It was only the second time in the history of the Tour Down Under that the stage race began with a race against the clock. In Adelaide, the riders faced a 3.6-kilometre course. On the flat Australian roads, the Dutch team did not feature in the fight for the top positions, despite posting strong intermediate times in the first part of the prologue.

Matthew Brennan and Filippo Fiorelli were the fastest riders at the first intermediate point, but were unable to build on their strong starts. They finished nine and fifteen seconds behind winner Samuel Watson, respectively. Brennan was Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s best-placed rider, finishing in 29th position.

“All things considered, we got off to a solid start”, sports director Jesper Mørkøv says. “The plan was to go full gas from the start. We managed to do that, but it was clear that it was a bit too fast for Matthew and Filippo. They lost time in the second part of the prologue, which is unfortunate. The other guys also did what was expected of them.”

In addition to Brennan and Fiorelli, Team Visma | Lease a Bike traveled to Oceania with Anton Schiffer, Menno Huising, Per Strand Hagenes, Pietro Mattio, and Tim Rex. “We have been here for about two weeks now, and the atmosphere within the group is good. Over the coming days, we’ll be targeting a stage win. Matthew is the perfect candidate for that”, Mørkøv concludes.