The 2022 Presidential Tour of Turkey got underway on Thursday, with Sam Welsford (Team DSM) taking his first professional win in a bunch sprint finish in Ayvalik, and Caleb Yuan (Lotto Soudal) and Kayden Groves (Team BikeExchange-Jayco) followed with three wins out of five stages.

Welsford is a newcomer to the WorldTour after a successful track career that included medals at the Rio and Tokyo Olympics and his first race for Team DSM in two years.

"We've put a lot of work into this," said Welsford. We've put a lot of work into this," Welsford told Cycling News. We were all hungry for our first win. We showed a lot of teams and a lot of people that this is going to be a year of a lot of wins. We can do it. It was a big confidence boost for us. [At the Belgian one-day classics, we finished fourth in the Bredene Koksijde Classic, third in the Scheldeprijs, and our first win in Turkey, the first win of the year for the team. I am really happy with the development of the team. Me and the team have been working hard to see the top step."

Welsford is the reigning Team Pursuit World Champion over two years as a junior (2013, 2014) and multiple years as an elite athlete in Australia (2016, 2017, 2019, and the 2019 scratch race) Since his start in Bodrum, he has been named sprinter of the bunch sprints, as C.S. Boll was 6th and 4th in the first two bunch sprints and Alberto Dainese was 5th in the third bunch sprint.

"We came here with three fast riders. It gave me options for the way the stage unfolded." It was a pretty fast finish. I think the track speed, the power, and the kick at the end worked well. We mixed it up

"But one of the most important things was to keep the leadout process the same and focus on getting the sprinters in positions where they could actually sprint. The athletes did a great job today and I can't thank them enough. I think this is a sign of things to come."

The big question is this: will the 26-year-old Neopro be a top sprinter, a lead-out man, or a strong classic player?

"I always had the desire to go on the road after growing up on the track," he said. 'Of course, I didn't expect to win so early in my career, but all the hard work has really made me hungry. As a track rider, it is really hard for sprinters to compete on the road. Especially with the chaos of track racing.

"I don't know how I will develop. When I first entered the World Tour, I thought I would just be a sprinter, but I had a hard day in the crosswinds of Scheldepreis. Even a hard day gave me confidence. But you know, for me, I'm still developing as a sprinter and a lead-out man.

Nine Australians and seven New Zealanders in the Presidential Tour of Turkey will finish stage 6 in Echabat (as they did in stage 2 in 2019, which was won by Sam Bennett). After crossing the newly opened bridge over the Dardanelles, the sixth stage will finish in front of the World War I 57th Infantry Regiment monument on the Gallipoli Peninsula, which marks the military history of Australia and New Zealand.

"Tomorrow is a very important stage," Welsford confirmed. 'It's a very important stage tomorrow. Tomorrow is a very important stage. It's a big thing for us. Anzac Day is a big day for me, too. I hope to use that energy to get back on the podium.

"There are a lot of Aussies here. It's great to get together and have some Aussie talk during the race. As Australians, we have always gotten along well. It's nice to share stories, but we are fierce competitors. When we see the finish line, everyone will be on full throttle. It's definitely going to be a special stage for Australians and New Zealanders."

Welsford is on the DSM long list to make his Grand Tour debut at the Giro d'Italia in Budapest on May 6.