Preview: Your guide to the 2019 women’s Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race

This Saturday the elite women’s peloton takes to Geelong for the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. This one-day race — officially called the Deakin University Elite Women’s Road Race — was put in the work of its fifth year and the work of its fourth at UCI level. Predict on for our preview of the hasten, including the riders to watch and how the race might play out.

The track

The course for Saturday’s race is the same as the one that was used last year, a 113.3 km loop-the-loop that starts and finishes in the Victorian metropoli of Geelong. From Geelong, the riders manager south east towards Barwon Heads before following a lumpy direction down the coast through Torquay and Bells Beach. From Bells the riders ability inland then swaying north before eventually honcho east back towards Geelong.

Like last year, the scoot ends in a partial sip of the circuit used in the men’s hasten; a trend derived from the tour used in the 2010 Road World Championships road race. Two climbs define this closing part-circuit: the brutally steep Challambra Crescent( 1km at 10%) and the easier-but-still-not-easy Queens Park Rd/ Melville Ave combination( which includes a 20% ramp ).

The last-place of these climbings peaks roughly 6km from the finish. From there it’s a largely flat and downhill run-in, the last 1.8 km of which is go flat along the beautiful Geelong waterfront.

How it might play out

To get a sense to seeing how Saturday’s race might play out, it’s worth considering the previous four publications of this race. Of those four, 2 are acquired solo, one was won from a group of five and one was triumphed from a group of 21.

A shortened bunch sprint or solo win is again the likeliest outcome for Saturday. The lumpy loop down the Surf Coast will serve to thin out the field and the hard ascent through Geelong will ensure that exclusively the strongest can get to the closing kilometres with a shot of victory.

Expect to ensure a burst( or several interruptions) get away in the very early stages but for it all to be back together on coming to Challambra Crescent. From there we’re likely to see the beloveds start criticizing each other, particularly on the two late climbs.