27 Jan Race Melbourne And Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race: A Surreal Experience

Arriving at Melbourne Airport rather weary after leaving home at 4am, I could have been forgiven for thinking that I was just imagining things. It was quite surreal to be standing only metres away from many of the World’s top professional cycling teams, with riders I have only ever seen and read about online. It was so cool to be around such classy cyclists, and even more exciting to be racing alongside them in a couple of days.

The hospitality at the Cadel Evans race was simply amazing with the accommodation being in the heart of Geelong city, and buffet meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was definitely the most relaxed that I have ever felt before a major race. The organisers and event crew went out of their way to make sure everyone was happy, and it was a fantastic, chilled atmosphere before and in between racing. The opening event function named the “Welcome Wave”, comprising of a traditional Aboriginal welcome and a dinner, was a privilege to be a part of. The emphasis placed on the women’s race was very encouraging to see, and it was nice to feel as if you were a part of something that was considered and recognised at a similar importance to that of the men’s race. The effort that was put into organising the opening event must have been quite considerable given the amazing venue, speeches and food provided; I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t overindulge at the chocolate dessert bar!

The first race was the Towards Zero Race Melbourne Criterium which was seen as an exhibition event in preparation for the main Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race two days later. It was really good to shake off the nerves and have a wee hit out before the road race with the frenetic 65km circuit race around Albert Park certainly ticking both those boxes. I learnt so much from this one race alone in regards to positioning, awareness and getting used to riding in the professional peloton. What I quite like about racing at a high level is that anything goes (to a certain degree), and chopping wheels or cutting others off is a regular thing. If someone didn’t like the way you were riding or moving around the bunch during racing in New Zealand, then you would certainly know about it! It was great to make it through Race Melbourne in one piece and begin preparing for the road race, but at the same time the experience and confidence gained during this opening event was really valuable.

Moving onto the big one, I was pretty excited to get stuck in and finally race as I really liked the look of the course. After discussing the possible critical points in the race during team talks and getting a little worked up at the thought of being dropped in nasty crosswinds at only 20km in, it was a relief to reach this point and for my worst fears not to eventuate with the wind only being very light. Because of the perfect weather conditions and a two person break being up the road, the speed in the peloton was very sedate through the first intermediate sprint and QOM. It was good to enjoy the scenery and crowds for the first 60km rather than burning matches early on during cross winds or up climbs. The atmosphere along the course was very cool, with people lining the streets of the towns that we rode through and supporters dotted everywhere around the course. With all the teams conserving themselves for the crucial final 30km, the peloton continued to cruise until we hit a right handed turn heading in towards Geelong. The wind had picked up so crosswinds had riders scrambling for position along a 2km stretch before a descent which acted as a welcomed reprieve. Unfortunately we were the only team that didn’t have race radios, so all other the teams would have been readying themselves for the crossies while I for one was caught completely by surprise just relaxing towards the back of the bunch!

The pace was really turned on up a relatively long, but gradual climb that for some reason had a sprint prime positioned right at the top. This signalled the start of a furious and hectic 20km run into the finish which was dotted with technical sections and pinchy climbs. After not being able to give it full throttle due to a couple mechanical hitches, I was forced to peg it back on a long descent leading into Challambra Crescent, a 10% 1km climb that was featured in the women’s race for the very first time. Being gapped not even on the climb was a little frustrating, but I tapped away up Challambra and found myself in a solid bunch of ten at the top that included teammates Lydia and Grace. With the kilometres ticking away and the course still not letting up, we were unable to make up any ground on those in front, but I was still really pleased to finish my first proper UCI road race in the second group, 1.13 mins down on the leaders. It’s certainly an event that I thoroughly enjoyed, not just the race itself but the whole experience. I would love to compete again on a fully functioning bike and improve on this years outing! A huge thank you to Patrick Harvey as well as John and Annette Rippon for their help and organisation before and during the event. It’s great to be able to focus on the race itself rather than the tasks behind the scenes that need to be done in order for us to line up at the start.