Andresen caps big Australian trip with Cadel race win
Roger Vaughan |
Tobias Lund Andresen has capped his bountiful Australian campaign by winning the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race for the first time.
The Danish cyclist timed his sprint to perfection on Sunday in Geelong to claim the 183.8km race.
He also took out stage one of the Tour Down Under earlier this month in a successful debut with his new team, Decathlon CMA CGM.
Fellow sprinter Matthew Brennan hit out too early and was passed by Lund Andresen. The British star finished second and Australian Brady Gilmore was third.
As usual with this race, it came down to four laps of the 21.4km finishing circuit in Geelong, punctuated by the steep 1.7km Challambra Crescent climb.
Colombian Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) attacked on the second and third Challambra climbs, sparking plenty of reaction and splits at the front of the race.
The bright yellow jerseys of Visma/Lease A Bike were also prominent as they tried to keep the race together for their in-form leader Brennan.
At the start of the last lap, Australian Chris Harper (ARA national team) and Norwegian Anders Skaarseth (Uno X-Mobility) had a small lead over the peloton.
They were caught on the last Challambra climb, moments after a crash took down several riders including Australian Olympic gold medallist and Harper’s teammate Oliver Bleddyn.
Australian Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla) led the charge on the final climb up Challambra, trying to distance the sprinters in the field and set up the race for Swiss teammate Mauro Schmid.
The race came down to a front group of 20, with Plapp trying a final attack with about a kilometre left, while Schmid finished fourth.
Conditions were mild, with some light rain – offering some relief for the peloton after Adelaide’s heat during the Tour Down Under.
Sunday was the career swansong for much-respected Australian Simon Clarke (NSN) and a “Farewell Clarkey” sign was prominent on the Challambra climb.
AAP
