Australian cyclist Sam Welsford has made the perfect start to a year when he hopes to complete his Olympic medal set with gold.

The 27-year-old sprinter won stage one of the Tour Down Under on Tuesday, also giving him the overall lead.

It is Welsford’s first win since switching to BORA-Hansgrohe this year and he was given an ideal leadout by his new teammates for the bunch sprint finish at Tanunda in the Barossa Valley.

Australian sprint ace Caleb Ewan (Jayco AlUla) finished fourth after illness disrupted his Tour preparations.

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Jayco AlUla teammate Luke Plapp had boldly declared at the Tuesday pre-race media conference they were aiming for a sweep of the stage wins and the overall title – something never done at the Tour since it started in 1999.

There were unconfirmed reports the temperature on the road reached the mid-40s in the 144-kilometre stage that also started at Tanunda.

“It was a bloody hard day out there in the heat,” Welsford said.

“Sprinters feed off confidence and the only time you can get that is if you get a good result.

“For us to get the first win of the season here as a team, the first race together, is good signs of what we can do forever.”

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Welsford will have a busy year and hopes to ride on the track in the team pursuit at the Paris Olympics.

He has joined BORA-Hansgrohe after two years at fellow WorldTour team DSM.

He won silver in the event at the Rio Games and bronze three years ago in Tokyo.

Welsford also hopes to ride in May’s Giro d’Italia and then prepare for the July-August Paris Games.

“I still have the passion for the track. I’ve gotten a silver and bronze at the Olympics, so I’m missing the hardest one to get – fingers crossed I can go there this year,” he said.

Welsford’s teammate Alex Porter face-planted in their qualifying ride at the Tokyo Games when the handlebar snapped off his bike, ruining their chances of contending for the gold medal.

They rallied to win bronze, the only medal on the velodrome for Australia – the worst result for the track squad at an Olympics since Moscow in 1980.

German Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious), who won at Tanunda a year ago, was runner-up to Welsford on Tuesday.

Ewan pulled out of Saturday’s pre-Tour criterium because of ill health.

“My legs felt alright – when the intensity went up, I really felt it,” Ewan said.

“Having a few easy days, my heart rate was super high. But that’s normal with the heat as well.

“As the tour goes on, I should hopefully be better.”

Ewan added his teammates also gave him an ideal leadout.

“I can’t fault them, they did a great job. I was always out of the wind,” he said.

“I was on Sam’s wheel, perfect position, but I just didn’t really have the legs to kick around him in the end.”

Several crashes punctuated the frenetic run to the finish, but none of the big names in the field appeared to be affected.

For the first time since the Tour started in 1999 this year’s edition features no previous winners.

-AAP