For the second consecutive year, Intermarché-Wanty finished with one of its rider on the podium of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, the first World Tour classic of the season, concluding its start of the season in Australia in style after the Tour Down Under and the Surf Coast Classic.
One year after the second place of Hugo Page, Georg Zimmermann climbed on the third step of the podium from a select group of twenty riders, that escaped on the fourth and last ascent of Challambra, the main difficulty on the circuit around Geelong.
In this way, the German rider achieved his first podium in a classic of World Tour level. For the selection directed by Steven De Neef, it is the fourth podium in ten days, after the victory of Biniam Girmay in the Surf Coast Classic and two other podiums of the Eritrean rider in the Tour Down Under.
“I’m very proud on achieving my first World Tour podium in a one day race today. I was less than a bike length away from the victory, but I have no regrets. I tried my utmost best and I am satisfied with this fantastic performance. On the climbs I each time had to dig quite deep to follow the strongest riders. After the last ascent of Challambra I fully focused on the sprint, in case Biniam Girmay would return in the leading group and also because the rather downhill final was not favourable for attacks. In the end our group stayed ahead and I managed to position well in the final straight, until it bubbled up with 750 meter to go. I chose for the right side of the road and launched this downhill sprint from far. This third place is a nice way to conclude our trip to Australia after Biniam’s victory in the Surf Coast Classic and my twelfth place in the final classification of the Tour Down Under. I felt strong and enjoyed our excellent teamspirit for four weeks, we all worked hard with the same goal in mind. So I’m looking to the European classics with confidence.”
