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Like Santos Tour Down Under, Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race The two-year hiatus was forced by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, for 2023, it is back on the WorldTour calendar.
The peloton is set to descend on the city of Geelong and head over to the Coastal Circuit from Adelaide to Melbourne.
The area has received heavy rains over the past week, but the weather is forecast to remain dry for the weekend, albeit with a slight wind.
The women’s race will be held over 143 km on Saturday, 28 January, while the men will race over 176 km on Sunday, 29 January.
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Starting at the waterfront, the peloton will head south and over the Barwon River, where they will encounter the first climb before heading down country roads towards Moriak.
Descending towards the coastal towns of Bells Beach and Torquay, where riders will contest a sprint point, they will need to watch out for crosswinds as the route crosses the coastline before heading inland to Barwon Heads and another sprint point.
The peloton would then head back to Geelong along the Bellarine Peninsula for the start of the final lap of 17 km, four for the men and two for the women.
The Geelong Loop includes the short but steep Challambra Crescent climb that points towards the KOM classification and can split the peloton neatly if the sprinters are not on guard.
Another short, steep climb up Melville Avenue is followed by a descent down Chalumbera Crescent, before the race heads back through the residential streets of Geelong towards the finish line along the waterfront.
contender women
Previous winners of the women’s race include Amanda Spratt, Annemiek van Vleuten, Arlenice Sierra, Chloe Hosking, with the previous edition taking Liane Lippert’s first Women’s WorldTour win just months before the pandemic hit.
Again, we see only six of the 15 World Team teams take part in the race and many of these are the same riders who have lined up for the Tour Down Under in Adelaide.
This is a race that can either come down to a sprint or break on the climb depending on how the riders approach it. If a climber finds a way we can see Trek-Segafredo Amanda Spratt Finally manage a win after showing some seriously good form so far this year. She will have to fend off FDJ-SUEZ’s Grace Brown, however, who got the better of her on the Tour Down Under’s Corkscrew Road stage and is in good form after claiming the overall in that race.
Kiwi Georgia Williams, on her new team of EF Education-Tibco-SVB, has also shown some impressive climbing form at the Tour Down Under and could be a strong contender if she finds herself on the right end of the split in the race. EF also has climber Krista Doebel-Hickok who had a strong Tour Down Under.
The sprinters teams, however, will be hoping to retain the race for the final and the likes of Jayko Alula will be invested in getting fast-paced riders such as Alex Manley and Ruby Roseman-Gannon in position to sprint for victory.
The surprise winner of the Tour Down Under’s first stage, Human Powered Health’s Daria Pikulic could also be a contender for a sprint finish if she makes it to the mountains. Otherwise, the team may look to its climber, Henrietta Christie.
contender male
The eventual winner of the men’s race was Soudal–QuickStep. dries deveinWho will again line up with the team on Sunday.
The rider proving the most is Jayco-Alula’s Michael Matthews, who wanted more from the Tour Down Under and has been vocal about his disappointment. Mathews will be hoping to capitalize on his home campaign with a win.
The INEOS Grenadiers have a strong squad with plenty of options including young all-around talents Ethan Hayter and Magnus Sheffield and Australian national champion Luke Plop.
Riding for the Australian National Team, caleb evan Having missed out on a stage win at the Tour Down Under, a bunch of the race will be hoping for sprints.
EF Education-EasyPost Opportunistic Italian Alberto Bettiol could be a contender if the race on the climb is tough enough.
Trek-Segafredo’s Latvian national champion Emils Lepins showed off his fast finish at the Tour Down Under and will be hoping for a clear run after some bad luck – including accidentally coming off his pedals during a sprint on stage 4.
how to see
Women’s race: Saturday, January 28 at 04:15 CET on Eurosport/GCN+ (Friday, January 27 at 10:15 PM EST)
Men’s race: Sunday, 29 January at 03:00 CET on Eurosport/GCN+. (Saturday January 28th 9:00PM EST)
