The hugely successful Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race is back in 2016 and looks set to attract even more of the world’s best cycling teams as the event continues to grow in stature.
World Champion and Tour de France winner, Cadel Evans will host the inaugural Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race on 30 January, Saturday and 31 January, Sunday next year in Victoria, Australia.
The three courses, which are the Men’s Road Race, Elite Women’s Race and the Momentum Energy People’s Ride, will travel through some of the most beautiful and iconic areas of Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula and surf coast, including some of Cadel Evans’ favourite riding routes.
The race is set to start on Geelong’s waterfront, travel through Cadel Evans’ home town of Barwon Heads, Thirteenth Beach, Torquay, Bells Beach, Moriac and then culminate with a dramatic finish on Geelong’s waterfront.
The Elite Men’s Road Race has received 1.HC classification from the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), one level below UCI WorldTour, a significant achievement in only the event’s second year.
Cadel Evans said he was delighted that the race was being increasingly, formally recognised by both the world’s best teams and the international cycling federation. Having officially retired from competitive cycling following the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in 2015, Cadel will ride the 2016 Momentum Energy People’s Ride so participants will have the opportunity to ride shoulder-to-shoulder with the Australian icon himself.
“I’m really thrilled that this year’s inaugural event was so well received,” said Cadel, “And delighted that now in my retirement, I’ll be able to join in the excitement of the very popular Momentum Energy People’s Ride. I’d encourage riders to register quickly to ensure they secure a place in this fantastic event.”
Cadel Evans’ former team BMC Racing and Australia’s own ORICA-GreenEDGE are two of the UCI WorldTour teams confirmed to experience some of the most beautiful and iconic areas of Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula and Surf Coast.
Geelong is located just over an hour away from Melbourne city and is easily accessible via public transport. Participants that would like to stay closer to the race venue can look into the endless opportunities for accodomation in Geelong, including the Seamist Geelong holiday apartments located on Geelong’s waterfront. There are also many caravan and tourists parks such as the Barwon Heads Caravan Parks providing camp sites, caravan parking spots and four star deluxe cabins.
For supplies, Melbourne has endless cycling specialty stores to assist with race requirements, in the CBD, such as Melbourne Bikes and Bike Now, whom can assist riders. In Geelong, Bicycle Superstore and De Grandi Cycle & Sports can provide everything one would need including nutritional supplements and aids for longer races.
New visitors to Geelong and The Bellarine can learn more about the region through the free Geelong Bellarine Official Visitor Guide app, which features iconic attractions, events, food, accommodation, easy to navigate maps and much more.
Other posts by FO Newsdesk
