Marlen Reusser, Sam Welsford and Marc Hirschi hit the ground running: 5 things we learned from the opening races of the season

The 2025 cycling season is well and truly up and running with some talking points already beginning to develop after the first races flashed by. The Tour Down Under is done and dusted and all eyes now turn to Europe and the imminent arrival of Opening Weekend, via the Middle East.

Here are five takeaways from the Tour Down Under and recent men’s and women’s races in Spain to whet the appetite for what's to come in the weeks ahead.

Marc Hirschi starts as he means to go on with Tudor

Marc Hirschi kickstarted his career at Tudor with an emphatic win at the Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana in Spain, the second race of the European men’s racing season, and showed signs that there’s more to come.

Hirschi was in scintillating form at the tail end of last year for UAE Emirates. The Swiss star enjoyed a trio of victories at the Clásica San Sebastián, Coppa Agostoni and Sabatini and finished sixth overall in the men’s elite World Championships road race. His transfer to a new environment could well be the catalyst to him kicking on even further in the coming years and take him to the next level.

Along with fellow new arrival Julian Alaphilippe, who Hirschi narrowly beat in his San Sebastián victory, Hirschi will enjoy a clear leadership role at the Fabian Cancellara-backed squad and will represent a real threat in the hillier Classics.

Will Sam Welsford make the Tour de France?

Australian sprinter Sam Welsford grabbed his second successive hat trick of stage wins at the Tour Down Under, but will he be able to sustain his form and ensure he lands a spot in Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s Tour de France team?

After splitting his focus between his track ambitions at last summer’s Olympics and his goals on the road, he now says it is all in for results for his trade team and the start of the year couldn’t have gone much better. Red Bull team management will have been impressed with his opening performance, but the French Grand Tour is still a long way off.

Building on his Tour Down Under success with a few wins in the upcoming UAE Tour, followed by a solid performance in Paris-Nice, could well put him in contention for a return to the Tour this summer where he says he will be targeting opening day victory and the race's first yellow jersey if selected. However, three wins at the TDU last year did not amount to much more in Europe. Welsford will hope this year is different.

Marlen Reusser demonstrates impressive form on Movistar debut

Similarly to the likes of Marc Hirschi and Jhonatan Narváez, Marlen Reusser started as she meant to go on at Movistar after switching to the Spanish team from SD Worx-Protime last year.

Reusser endured a difficult 2024 campaign after the latter half of her season was derailed by illness, although she appeared back to full fitness and looked sharp when holding off Mavi García to win the Trofeo Palma Femina on Sunday. The Swiss rider expertly held off Garcia on the climb to the finish before sprinting away to take the win on the ascent with little response from the Spaniard.

It’s difficult to read too much into early season results, but Reusser could well be on track to return to the one-day form she demonstrated in 2023 when she took the win in Gent-Wevelgem and finished third at Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes.

Jhonatan Narváez begins with a bang at UAE Team Emirates

Jhonatan Narváez went one better at the Tour Down Under on debut for UAE Emirates after finishing second overall last time out in Australia. The Ecuadorian secured the overall win last week by nine seconds after taking a stage victory on Willunga Hill.

Narváez was one of several to make for the exit door at Ineos Grenadiers at the end of last season and, on paper, represented an astute signing for UAE Emirates. The Ecuadorian achieved some solid results for Ineos in the Classics last year and could be set to replicate those performances this spring.

A race like Strade Bianche and the E3 Saxo Classic appear tailor made to his strengths as a puncheur, although the latter would appear more of a possibility this year with Tadej Pogačar set to lead UAE in Tuscany at Strade Bianche.

Oscar Onley shows good form in Australia

After his stage-winning exploits on Willunga Hill 12 months ago, Oscar Onley was a huge favourite to double up on his success this time round in Australia and seal a second consecutive win on the famous climb. However, the 22-year-old Scottish rider ended up taking second place, which all but sealed fourth overall in the general classification.

Onley’s ride in Australia was just 15 seconds off of overall Tour Down Under victory and a first WorldTour stage race win, showing that a major victory is just around the corner.

Onley made clear in a recent interview with Cycling Weekly that he is aiming for a Tour de France stage win this year. His form in 2024, particularly at the World Championships, showed that he is more than capable of holding his own on the biggest of stages.