The Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race is back for another year, with a high-quality peloton set to fight it out in the biggest one-day classic race of the season so far. Join The Roar for live race updates and coverage from 11:15am (AEDT).
Always an entertaining race this early in the season, this is the fifth edition of Australia’s biggest one-day classic race.
The 163-kilometre cause is unchanged from last year. It starts with a long coastal loop, starting and ending in Geelong, with the race going through Cadel Evans home town of Barwon Heads, then through Torquay and Bells Beach before looping back slightly inland, across Mount Moriac, then back to a finishing circuit around Geelong.
The finishing circuit of 17 kilometres will be ridden three times are the initial 105-kilometre loop, and features two reasonably steep climbs.
It’s actually almost the same loop used in the 2010 World Cycling Championships, with Challambra Crescent and Melville Avenue being the two climbs on the circuit. The first of those is one kilometre at around ten per cent before the run to the line is mainly flat and downhill, spanning just over five kilometres.
The favourite is undoubtedly Daryl Impey. He is in stunning form after winning the Tour Down Under for the second year in a row, and the Mitchelton-Scott rider will have all the resources behind him once again.
Defending champion Jay McCarthy is also back in the field for Bora Hansgrohe, and they seem to be the two favourites on the surface, although McCarthy may need to shake Impey and any other sprinters – namely, Caleb Ewan – if he wants to win.
The race will probably be a little too difficult for Ewan to hang on though, although if he does, he or Elia Viviani may canter to a victory.
Richie Porte will also be keen to make a statement for his new team Trek-Segafredo, but will need to get aggressive if he wants to win, given the final six-kilometre stretch won’t suit him. Still, Cadel Evans finished at the top of the pack in the one edition he rode, so there is no doubt Porte could do some damage.
Other favourites include Michael Woods and Luis Leon Sanchez, while Nathan Haas has also pulled out of the race.
Predicition
As we have seen in previous years, this race is normally won in a reduced bunch sprint – although the size of the group or whether someone can go solo after setting the tempo in a breakaway all day depends on exactly how hard the top teams – like Lotto-Soudal – make the race.
You’d expect on the surface for this to be another reduced bunch sprint though, and with that in mind, I’m taking the in-form Daryl Impey to pick up the win ahead of Jay McCarthy.
Be sure to join us here on The Roar for live coverage of the 2019 Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race from 11:15am (AEDT) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thanks for joining me this afternoon on The Roar for our live coverage of the 2019 Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. Hopefully you enjoyed it. I'll be back at 7:30pm (AEDT) this evening for live coverage of the Australian Open men's singles final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Bye for now.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thoughts Roarers?
Scott Pryde
Expert
FULL RESULTS 1. Elia Viviani (Quick Step) @ 3:54:35 2. Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) + 0:00 3. Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) + 0:00 4. Ryan Gibbons (Dimension Data) + 0:00 5. Jens Debusschere (Katusha-Alpecin) + 0:00 6. Luke Rowe (Sky) + 0:00 7. Michael Morkov (Qucik Step) + 0:00 8. Jay McCarthy (Bora-Hansgrohe) + 0:00 9. Owain Doull (Sky) + 0:00 10. Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) + 0:00
Scott Pryde
Expert
Replays confirm that Impey went long distance. He was behind Ewan, but because of the way he went, Ewan couldn't find a space until Impey went and a gap opened up to the right-hand side. Ewan couldn't get out of the wheel until there was about 50 metres to go, which hurt him in the end.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Caleb Ewan will be disappointed he couldn't get the job done there. Impey was there and abouts, but his sprint seemed to box Ewan in for a moment, and in the end, it might have cost the Aussie.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Well, second last year for Viviani, but the pre-race favourite goes one better this time around. The climbers just didn't make it hard enough out there, and Viviani a deserved winner in the end on the back of some superb work from Quick Step throughout the last ten or so kilometres.
Scott Pryde
Expert
ELIA VIVIANI WINS THE CADEL EVANS GREAT OCEAN ROAD RACE The pace is extreme. Morkov leading out for Viviani through the final 500 metres to go and it's Daryl Impey to go, boxing Ewan in. Morkov goes, Viviani opens up and Ewan challenges off the fence, but Viviani hangs on to take the victory by half a length over Caleb Ewan! Viviani just held off Ewan in the end there. Another 30 metres and Ewan had him going hard, but a great lead out from Morkov on the back of that extremely strong work from Devynens. What an exciting race that was. Outstanding.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Ewan is on the wheel of Viviani with 800 metres to go! This is going to be a sprint finish.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Caleb Ewan is back to the front with Viviani as well through one kilometre to go.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Porte sits up, but this time around it's Pavel Sivakov going for it from Team Sky with 1.5 kilometres to go. He is shut down by Oss again though who then tries to go on with the job of discouraging attacks.
Scott Pryde
Expert
McCarthy and Impey fighting for the wheel of Viviani here, but meanwhile, Ritchie Porte has decided he is going to go. No gap opening up for the Aussie climber there though. Headwind, swinging to crosswind finish from the coastal (left) side. 1.5 kilometres left.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Van Baarle going for broke now. 2 and a half kilometres to go and he has just opened up a little bit of a gap, but it won't be enough in a sprint finish. Devenyns leading the bunch for Quick Step.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Is that Poels? No. Van Baarle. Dylan Van Baarle is having one last crack at winning this thing with 3.2 kilometres to go. No one reacting this time, so it's Quick Step who will have to try and chase down the Team Sky rider.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Viviani and Ewan in good position here. Quick Step have come to the front for the Italian national champion. 3.5 kilometres to go.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Sanchez is going for broke five kilometres from the finish line., but he will be caught pretty quickly with the sprinters teams trying to keep things together here. 4 kilometres to go.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Hamilton (with Impey behind) and Devenyns (with Viviani behind) won't work with Van Baarle here. This catch won't take long. Both Viviani and Ewan are in the main group just behind alongside the likes of Impey and McCarthy. It's going to be a bunch finish as Daniel Oss closes the gap down. Luis Leon Sanchez now jumps onto the attack.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Lucas Hamilton onto the front now, trying to drag away from the peloton, but that's just such a short uphill section and not enough to do damage. Van Baarle, Hamilton and Dries Devenyns have gone clear here. This is a proper break with 5.5 kilometres to go, but probably not enough to hold off the return of the bunch.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Elia Viviani is there! He has caught back onto what is a smaller group and got to the front of the race. One more steepish section to go, and it's Ritchie Porte on the front, desperately trying to drop other riders.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Lucas Hamilton trying to lead the charge for Mitchelton-Scott and Daryl Impey here, but the chance of holding off guys like Caleb Ewan and co seem slim now.
Scott Pryde
Expert
The sprinters do have a bit of ground to make up, but the group at the front is disorganised and in the moment they had to try and break it up over the top, they haven't. The sprinters will catch back on and this is going to be the biggest group finish we have ever had at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.