The first World Tour one-day race of the year is scheduled on Sunday.
Our Australian summer comes to a conclusion this weekend, when the Soudal Quick-Step boys – Pascal Eenkhoorn, Antoine Huby, James Knox, Junior Lecerf, Casper Pedersen, neo-pro Andrea Raccagni and Pieter Serry – will line up for the ninth edition of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, which our team has won on three occasions.
Just as was the case at the previous editions of the one-day World Tour event, and despite the harder first part of the race, the action should properly kick off only in the last 68 kilometers, once the peloton enters the circuit, where the Highton and Challambra Crescent climbs will whittle down the bunch as the speed will gradually ramp up. From the top of the last ascent, only a handful of kilometers remain until the electric finish on the Geelong waterfront, where the winner will be crowned.
“The local circuit will be the key on Sunday. The climbs there always reduce the peloton, which means we could have a group of around 60-80 riders entering the final kilometers. It’s important to remain attentive on the circuit and race offensively, and we are keen on doing that in the hope we’ll get a good result in our final outing on Australian soil”, explained Soudal Quick-Step sports director Geert Van Bondt.
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