Just like on Mallorca, Intermarché-Circus-Wanty distinguished itself with great collective strength in Australia, finishing on the podium at the end of the race.
One week after concluding the Tour Down Under, the selection under the direction of Steven De Neef participated in the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, a World Tour classic around Geelong with a triple ascension of the Challambra climb in the second race half as main difficulty.
Shortly after the start (1h15 Belgian time), Taco van der Hoorn escaped from the peloton on his own. He rode almost all race in the lead, winning the KOM and the intermediate sprint classification. In total, Taco van der Hoorn stayed more than 140 kilometer in the front on his own.
The Dutchman was caught with 40 kilometer to go and then immediately joined his teammates in the chase behind a counterattack of twelve riders. Hugo Page, Sven Erik Bystrøm and Dion Smith were still present in the peloton climbing Challambra for the third and last time.
Approaching the top, with around 10 kilometer to go, Bystrøm attacked and made a gap. Together with Mauro Schmid he preceded the peloton by 10 seconds until the red flag.
In the end, the peloton caught the duo with 300 meter to go, sprinting for the victory. Hugo Page obtained second place, Dion Smith finished seventh. It is the eighth podium of the World Team in January and the second one for the young Frenchman after his third place in a stage of Tour Down Under.
« It’s always a pity to finish so close to the victory, but we have no regrets today. We did a perfect race. Our strategy was clear, we used our different assets following the plan to perfection and we gave the best of ourselves. I’m proud to wear the colors of Intermarché-Circus-Wanty again on a World Tour podium. » « Already in the Tour Down Under we showed our collective strength with stage podiums for Julius Johansen and myself and a seventh place in GC for Sven Erik Bystrøm. I missed the top ten in GC because of a crash in front of me on the final climb, but I was happy to learn that I was in the mix for the stage wins. » « This first experience in Australia was fantastic. Apart from the races and training rides, this long month away from home felt like holidays with friends thanks to the brilliant atmosphere. This team spirit is undoubtedly what makes the difference in the races. The performances of our teammates on Mallorca also motivated us. Each morning when waking up there was a flood of WhatsApp messages! » « I usually perform quite well from the season start, so my trainer Ioannis Tamouridis planned an intense training period before these Australian races. Upon my return in Europe I will take a short break before going on a training camp with him in Greece to prepare the classics. »
