Phil Bauhaus won stage 1 of the Tour Down Under in a bunch sprint, beating Caleb Ewan(UniSA-Australia) and Michael Matthews (Team Jayco AlUla) into Tanunda. Thanks to this victory, Bauhaus leads the points classification in Santos Tour Down Under and ticks off the first win of Team Bahrain Victorious in the 2023 season.

In the final kilometres, Phil was well placed in the peloton just behind the train of Soudal-Quick Step and Team Jayco AlUla, while Nikias Arndt was at the front leading out for him. Around three hundred metres from the finish line, the German launched his sprint, edging the Australian duos and showing he was the fastest sprinter in the field, clinching his first victory in TDU.

“Today was super nervous, a lot of guys, unfortunately, went down. I crashed pretty bad like it was big impact, but I could recover. The team did a really good job. We were always in the front in the last lap. At Schwalbe Classic, I waited too long, so I just went with 300 meters to go. It was really close to Caleb Ewan, but yeah, I am super happy.”

Comments from Neil Stephens, our Sports Director: “Obviously the team is very happy with the win from Phil Bauhaus today. It’s a win not only from Phil but for the whole Bahrain Victorious team. We worked really hard throughout the European winter months to get ready for this race. Today’s win is really thanks to a lot of hard work from Phil, his teammates and all the staff members. We keep on working hard and hoping to win more races in the future.”

Phil even took a tumble earlier in the day when the riders in front of him lost their balance. With many riders crashing into him, his back hurt, and he had to change his bike due to the bad crash, then made some effort to come back. This is a win for teamwork and perseverance. For tomorrow he will go for another win if it finishes with a bunch sprint. If not, Nikias Arndt can be our perfect candidate for a reduced bunch sprint.