Jay Byrne won the ochre leader's jersey on stage 3 of the Santos Tour Down Under and diligently defended his lead on the final climb of Mount Lofty when an attack by second place Simon Yates (Jayco Arla) was unavoidable.

His winning strategy on the final stage was simple.

"Follow Yatesy, follow Yatesy, follow Yatesy, follow Yatesy. And when I crossed the last summit, I thought, okay, I can't lose 15 seconds from here. So I tried to sprint, but it didn't work," Wein said with a laugh.

Vine was not going to risk his first WorldTour win for a stage win. It was a calculation that reflected the calm and collected manner in which he and the UAE Team Emirates team challenged the entire race, making it easy to forget that it was his first Tour Down Under and his first race with the team.

"I am a big fan of Alain Prost in Formula 1 and his philosophy was to take risks when you can and go all out when you have the chance.

"I don't get greedy, I go for stage wins when I can make as much time as possible.

"So it was pretty easy for them today because I was 15 seconds ahead of the other two," Wein explained.

By the end of the 112.5km final stage, which climbed over 3,131m in elevation and five times up Mount Lofty, Wein had built an 11-second lead over Yates and a 27-second lead over third-place Bilbao (Bahrain-Victorias) to climb the podium.

It was quite a result for a rider who was not selected for the Australian national team the last time the race was held as a World Tour race in 2020 and was not even on the start line, let alone a professional cyclist.

"Well, I think it's good that I didn't make the start line in this race. I can say I won my debut race," joked Wein, relaxed and talkative after his victory.

"I don't know if I can say anything about the UniSA team selection, but I'm super happy with where I am right now and that's all in the past."

It is also clear how much lies ahead of him.

Baine has already won two stages at the Vuelta a España, and this will be his first World Tour stage race. He has an important leadership role with UAE Team Emirates and is expected to line up alongside Joan Almeida at this year's Giro d'Italia.

He has also won the Australian championship time trial title, confirming his potential as a Grand Tour contender.

However, Wein does not intend to rush too far ahead at this stage.

"I don't think the Tour Down Under is an accurate representation of Grand Tour form, but anything can happen.

"We're just at the start of the year, so let's see what happens in the next race."

There is still "fun" to be had, he insisted.

Now is the time to take a drink to celebrate his victory and enjoy what he has accomplished at the start of a long season.

"My wife keeps telling me ...... 'Just enjoy the moment, I love to ride my bike,'" Bein said.

"I think that's been my stress reliever this week. I really enjoyed yesterday and today. It was like chopping kilometers by kilometers, but it's fun to get on the bike and race. I really enjoyed it