In 2023 the men’s Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race will provide the final battle in the Australian summer of racing, with the one-day WorldTour race rolling through the hills and along the coast. It is a last chance for teams to head into the season with the confidence, and points, boost of an early win. It is especially a target for sweeping up that final Australian victory for the nation’s only WorldTour team, Jayco AlUla.
So often by the time the home squad has hit the start line in Geelong, it’s already made the most of its home ground advantage, sweeping up perhaps the road title at the Australian National Championships, the time trial stripes or often the overall winner of the Tour Down Under and even sometimes all three.
This year, Jayco AlUla came blazing into the Australian racing with one of its most powerful teams, making the most of the opportunity after two years of cancellations. They have put in strong performances through the racing but the big wins have just eluded them – with Luke Durbridge taking second in the time trial at the national championships, Michael Matthews third in the road race and Simon Yates second overall at the Tour Down Under, but he did clock up the team’s first victory of the year by winning on stage 5.
That may have been some consolation, though the team made it clear they were looking for more from the Australian summer, and the end is now nigh so if they want to find more it will have to be at the 176km road race in Geelong, a race the men’s squad of the Australian WorldTour team has never before won.
The field may not be as deep as in South Australia, with teams such as Jumbo-Visma, Astana Qazaqstan, Bahrain Victorious, Movistar, Groupama FDJ, Alpecin-Deceuninck and Cofidis all giving the Victorian race a miss, while recently-developed New Zealand-based ProTeam Bolton Equities–Black Spoke will join the fray. Nevertheless, the competition will remain high with the teams with strong key contenders largely opting to stay put.
Cyclingnews will be in Geelong to cover the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, gathering all the important news and rider reaction.
The route
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The 176-kilometre course again contains all the essential ingredients that…
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