A lightning-fast prologue, 3,600 meters in the heart of Adelaide, to kick off the Santos Tour Down Under and the WorldTour competitive season. British rider Samuel Watson from Ineos Grenadiers emerged victorious, marking his sixth career success. Watson pedaled in 4'16"90 at an average speed of 50.7 km/h, beating his compatriot Ethan Vernon from NSN Cycling Team by 59 hundredths of a second, with Laurence Pithie from Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe finishing in third place.

The best Italian of the day was Andrea Raccagni Noviero from Soudal Quick Step, who finished 16th, 8 seconds behind the winner.

FINAL STANDINGS AND GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Watson Sam (INEOS Grenadiers) in 00:04:16
2. Vernon Ethan (NSN Cycling Team) + 01
3. Pithie Laurence (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) + 03
4. Vine Jay (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) + 04
5. Gautherat Pierre (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) + 05
6. Schmid Mauro (Team Jayco-AlUla) + 05
7. Zijlaard Maikel (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) + 05
8. Teutenberg Tim Torn (Lidl-Trek) + 05
9. Bleddyn Oliver (Australia) + 05
10. Plowright Jensen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) + 07