The prologue opener of the Santos Tour Down Under was not a simple affair, as rain added a new challenge to the already technical 5.5km course. Importantly, the team's GC hope, Ethan Hayter, was among them.

The 24-year-old, winner of last year's Tour de Pollogne and Tour de Romandie prologue in Lausanne, was the last of the Ineos Grenadiers. Conditions were wet after the start, giving eventual winner Alberto Bettiol a considerable advantage over many of his rivals.

Hayter was the last of the Ineos Grenadiers to finish in 21st place in light rain conditions.

However, he said, "There are still five days of racing left. When I sat in the chair at the start it was drizzling and everyone was damp. To be honest, I crashed in Mallorca two weeks ago and I couldn't risk it at all."

Still, Hayter was only 19 seconds behind Bettiol and ahead of many of his potential rivals.

"I don't think I got off to a bad start. Magnus was second and me and Plappy were right on top of him," Hayter said.

Magnus Sheffield had to deal with damp conditions. The scorching heat of the early stages may have turned to overcast skies and the rain may have stopped, but there was an early blow that made him wary.

"I had a rear wheel slip before I even got down the ramp, but I knew I had to keep my eyes open and watch the corners during the race," Sheffield told Cycling News. I was watching the corners and trying to find a dry spot."

"The entrances to the corners were pretty wet, but the exits were still dry.

Of course, staying upright was also important for the other racers along the river in Adelaide's central business district.

"I'm just happy to be running in these conditions," Luke Plapp told Cycling News. The technical side is not my strong point, and in the wet you have to be a little bit careful. But I'm very happy. In these conditions it's good.

But being "so-so" is not Plapp's first consideration in a race.

"After all, we're here to win the race for Ethan. 'He is definitely our guy and on paper he will do the best he can. We are all in this as a team for a common goal. [Ethan] is one of my best guys and I couldn't be happier than to see him win here in Australia."