Swiss champion Mauro Schmid yesterday held off an elite chasing pack in searing heat to win the first UCI World Tour one-day classic of the season at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in Australia.
The Team Jayco–AlUla rider made his move on the downhill section of the final climb at Geelong with about 7km left, opening a 10-second gap and clinging on for a solo finish in 4 hours, 26.07 minutes.
Aaron Gate (XDS Astana) narrowly pipped fellow New Zealander and last year’s winner Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) into second, three seconds behind Schmid.
Photo: AFP
Australia’s Rudy Porter (ARA Australian Cycling) took the King of the Mountain honors on a day when temperatures topped 40°C.
“I think this is pretty close to the top,” Schmid said when asked if it was his career highlight. “It’s the first race I’ve won at World Tour level.”
“The team helped me prepare as well,” he added. “I came quite early to Australia. It was a big race for me, a big race for the team, so super happy that we could put a result together.”
A field of 98 riders set off on the 184km course which began and ended in Geelong and took in the southern coastline of Australia’s Victoria state.
It culminated in four steep ascents up Challambra Crescent, before a final downhill slope — where Schmid made his move — to the waterfront finish.
Italy’s Andrea Raccagni Noviero made an early break and spent more than 100km at the front by himself, building a seven-minute cushion.
However, he tired and was swallowed up by the peloton on the first of the four climbs. Schmid’s teammate Chris Harper took charge after the third Challambra climb, powering into a 40-second lead with 17km to go.
He was caught on the final ascent by a pack including Schmid who came over the summit fastest and could not be caught.
New Zealand’s Ally Wollaston edged the Netherlands’ Karlijn Swinkels to win the women’s contest on Saturday.
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