Chris Lawless left with tinge of disappointment after WorldTour debut with Team Sky
The young Brit was pushed into the role of lead sprinter at the Tour Down Under after Kristoffer Halvorsen crashed out, but says he's not got the results he wanted

Chris Lawless at the 2018 Tour Down Under (Sunada)
Chris Lawless was denied a chance to challenge in the final stage sprint of the Tour Down Under where he crashed in the last lap on Sunday.
The Team Sky rookie had been hopeful of improving on the sixth place he recorded a week earlier in the prelude criterium but rolled over the line well after André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) took the stage honours.
>>> Richie Porte looks forward to ‘best season of my career’ after Tour Down Under stage win
Lawless through the WorldTour opener assumed the role of team-mate Kristoffer Halvorsen, who suffered from fractured metacarpal when he collided into a barrier a few hundred metres from the finish of the teaser event.
“I was always ready for it because [sports director] Brett [Lancaster] had told me if anything happens, I’ll be sprinting,” he said.
“That started from the crit when I was leading Kristoffer out and when I heard the crash thought I better keep sprinting in case it’s him, and it was.
“I tried slipping into it [the role] as easy as I could but at this level it’s difficult.”
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
The 22-year-old said he struggled in the heat along with the rest of the peloton that endured consecutive days of temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOQyyoKhkr0&t=2s
The conditions and a bolstered field made for one of the most competitive races here in recent years, and a tough introduction to the WorldTour.
“Personally, I’ve not got the results I wanted to. It’s been difficult getting the leadout together, and when we have got it together we’ve either just got the timing wrong, or it’s been carnage at the finish,” Lawless said.
“The lads have been good but sometimes it just doesn’t work out.”
Sky entered the Tour Down Under with a new-look line-up that included younger riders from its Classics squad as well as burgeoning Colombian climber Egan Bernal, who finished sixth overall and won the best young rider classification.
“I’ve been let off lightly with the amount of work I’ve had to do at this race because we’ve always had the sprints in the back of our mind as well as the GC,” Lawless said.
The Tour de l’Avenir stage winner has designs to ride the cobbles this year, but which races will likely depend on his form.
“I’d like to perform well, help the team out, impress the team there with the work that I do,” he said.
“I think [I’m] more a Classics rider but it’s hard to tell. I’m still only 22 so there are a lot of things that could happen and I don’t know how I’m going to mature in these next few years.”
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Sophie Smith is an Australian journalist, broadcaster and author of Pain & Privilege: Inside Le Tour. She follows the WorldTour circuit, working for British, Australian and US press, and has covered 10 Tours de France.
-
“I feel proud racing guys I used to watch on TV” says French teenage sensation Paul Seixas after climbing to 6th in Critérium du Dauphiné GC
As Romain Bardet prepares to bow out, 18-year-old Paul Seixas looks well prepared to take up his stage racing baton
-
Tadej Pogačar: I didn’t like Visma’s dangerous tactics on the Croix de Fer descent but that’s modern cycling
Pogačar unhappy with rival team's approach during Critérium du Dauphiné's queen stage, as Jonas Vingegaard says “I hope that this race can help me get better"
-
Would Dave Brailsford returning to Ineos Grenadiers be a good idea?
Reportedly on his way out of Manchester United back to a wider role at Ineos Sport, the old Team Sky boss might be back in the world of cycling
-
Geraint Thomas to move into management role at Ineos Grenadiers after retirement - reports
Welshman due to retire at end of 2025 but expected to stay with team
-
'I only found out I was coming to this race yesterday' - Sam Watson claims first WorldTour win in 3.4km Tour de Romandie prologue
Brit wins by just three tenths of a second to take leader's jersey
-
'It can really push me along' - How a velodrome comeback is making Caleb Ewan faster on the road
Australian says he'll "definitely" continue track work after rekindling passion
-
Could Caleb Ewan be Ineos Grenadiers' first Tour de France sprinter since Mark Cavendish? 'That's my goal'
"All I can do is try to win as much as possible and prove that I deserve to be there," says Australian
-
'An unprecedented opportunity for brands to be part of the evolution' - Ineos Grenadiers sponsor hunt steps up with sales agency partnership
Sportfive have been employed to find "non-endemic global partners for the team"
-
'We've all got a little bit extra in us this year' - Ineos Grenadiers recapture 'fighting spirit' with aggressive Paris-Nice display
British team continue to put tumultuous 2024 behind them with momentum and a new found mentality
-
Could a TotalEnergies deal be the end of Ineos Grenadiers as we know them?
Reports suggested this week that Ineos could be close to signing a deal with the French petrochemical firm