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The second Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race was won in emphatic fashion by Peter Kennaugh, who attacked over the main climb, Challambra, then soloed to the finish.
The high-class rider surprised no one in the know, except the bookmakers, who reportedly had him at over $200 odds for the win.
Sky appeared to ride a tactically strong race, not hesitating to cover moves, with Ian Boswell chasing or Ian Standard infiltrating them.
The challenging course led to a selective race, with only the strongest and tactically astute having a chance at winning. Sorry Mark Cavendish, no bunch sprint here.
Here are some things you may have missed.
Michael Storer
Winning the young rider jersey by being the only under 23 (and amateur) to finish in the lead pack, behind a solo Kennaugh. A tremendous ride saw him even covering an attack over the final climb, where most guys appeared to be happy with hanging on.
His talent had been brewing with time trial podiums at an international level in the juniors, but this step into the elite really shows his potential. Could be a big name to follow for the next five years, as he is only 18.
One Pro Cycling
The new Great Britain Pro continental team had a terrific start to their season, with three riders in the top 20.
In the team classification they were outdone by countrymen Team Sky, but found themselves second, in front of a host of other World Tour teams.
While placing riders tenth and 11th would not have led to huge celebrations, internally they would be grinning at getting multiple riders in the final group among some of the best teams in the world.
The other One Pro cyclists in the top 20 were Dion Smith and James Oram from New Zealand. The development of the Kiwis will also be interesting to watch, with a change in teams and racing calendar after some progressive seasons with Axel Merckx’s development team. A great start for the newly formed team.
Simon Gerrans
We kept hearing his name on the telecast but didn’t see him until the end, and only briefly. The favourite kept his cards close to his chest, waiting for a bunch sprint. An Australian crowd would have loved to see this happen, but it wasn’t to be.
Orica-GreenEDGE tried to keep the attacks in check with Jack Haig and Damien Howson, who both rode strong. Mathew Hayman appeared to do a great ride, getting the finish to lead Gerrans out, but with a downhill finish the speed of Howard and some others in the slipstream was too much for Gerrans. An anonymous ride by Gerrans in the end.
Pat Lane
It was impossible to miss him, spending most of the day in the break and collecting the sprint and king of the mountains jerseys along the way, making it all look effortless – he was relaxed and calculated as he dropped riders from the breakaway.
The riders getting into the breaks in a one-day race are motivated and fit, and once there they want to maximise every opportunity to win something. Lane didn’t give them a chance and was nearly the last man standing.
Danilo Wyss
Team BMC were active late in the race, but didn’t place a rider in the top ten. They were not in Geelong to follow the leader, and were the first guys to go on the attack through the laps of Challambra, with Wyss linking up with early breakaway rider Alessandro De Marchi.
Wyss appeared to be BMC’s supported rider for the race, and with his eighth place last year a rider suited to the course, but Wyss lost his chance at a podium with a puncture in the last two kilometres of the race.
Not a just result for BMC after attractive racing.
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