Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
Cycling race in Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race also known as Great Ocean Road Race or Cadel Road Race is an annual professional one-day road bicycle racing for both men and women starting and finishing in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, and routed along the picturesque Great Ocean Road.
UCI Women's World Tour (2020–)
| |
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | late January |
| Region | Australia |
| Discipline | Road |
| Competition | UCI World Tour (2017–) UCI Women's World Tour (2020–) |
| Type | One-day |
| Organiser | O2 Events / Signature Sport |
| Web site | www |
| History (men) | |
| First edition | 2015 |
| Editions | 10 (as of 2026) |
| First winner |  Gianni Meersman (BEL) |
| Most wins | No repeat winners |
| Most recent |  Tobias Lund Andresen (DEN) |
| History (women) | |
| First edition | 2015 |
| Editions | 10 (as of 2026) |
| First winner |  Rachel Neylan (AUS) |
| Most wins |  Ally Wollaston (NZL) (2) |
| Most recent | Ally Wollaston (NZL) |
The first races were held in 2015 as the farewell race for Cadel Evans – Australian cyclist who won the Tour de France in 2011 and the road world championships in 2009.[1] Geelong had previously played host to the Australia World Cup in the UCI Women's Road World Cup between 2003 and 2008.[2]
In 2017, the men's race joined the UCI World Tour calendar.[3][4] In 2020, the women's race joined the UCI Women's World Tour calendar.[5]
In November 2020, it was announced that the 2021 race would not be held due to the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. This was due in part to a number of UCI WorldTour teams making the decision to stay in Europe due to uncertainty around international travel conditions and logistics of quarantine requirements.[6] The 2022 editions of the race were cancelled in December 2021 for similar reasons.[7] The event returned in January 2023, featuring on both the men's and women's World Tour calendars.[8]
Course
The men's course is around 160 km (99 mi) to 180 km (110 mi) in length, while the women's course is around 140 km (87 mi). In 2023, the mass participation People's Ride includes three distance options—35 km, 50 km, or 125 km.[9]
The race starts on the Geelong waterfront in Victoria, and travels westward to the rolling hills of Moriac, turning south toward the famous surf beach of Bells Beach, following the surf coast to Torquay and through Cadel’s hometown of Barwon Heads and Ocean Grove, before heading north back to a Geelong circuit before finishing back around on the waterfront.[10] The course is suited to puncheurs.[1]
Results
Men's race
Wins per country
| Wins | Country |
|---|---|
| 2 | Belgium Germany |
| 1 | Australia Great Britain Denmark Italy New Zealand Switzerland |
Women's race
New Zealand rider Ally Wollaston has won the most editions of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, after wins in both 2025 and 2026.
| Year | Country | Rider | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Australia |
Rachel Neylan | Building Champions Squad | |
| 2016 | Australia |
Amanda Spratt | Orica–AIS | |
| 2017 |  Netherlands |
Annemiek van Vleuten | Orica–Scott | |
| 2018 | Australia |
Chloe Hosking | Alé–Cipollini | |
| 2019 |  Cuba |
Arlenis Sierra | Astana | |
| 2020 | Germany |
Liane Lippert | Team Sunweb | |
| 2021 | No race due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2022 | No race due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2023 | Netherlands |
Loes Adegeest | FDJ–Suez | |
| 2024 | Netherlands |
Rosita Reijnhout | Visma–Lease a Bike | |
| 2025 | New Zealand |
Ally Wollaston | FDJ–Suez | |
| 2026 | New Zealand |
Ally Wollaston | FDJ United–Suez | |
Wins per country
| Wins | Country |
|---|---|
| 3 | Australia Netherlands |
| 2 | New Zealand |
| 1 | Cuba Germany |
Melbourne pre-race criterium
In 2017 the pre-race criterium was known as the Race Melbourne - Albert Park, becoming the Towards Zero Race Melbourne in 2018.[11] In 2019 the race was held in a team-based format with points awarded for sprints. Deceuninck-QuickStep won the men's event[12] and Trek Segafredo won the women's event.[13] In 2020 the race was not held and was replaced by Race Torquay.[14]
Men's race
| Year | Country | Rider | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 |  Ireland |
Sam Bennett | Bora–Hansgrohe |
| 2018 | Ireland |
Sam Bennett | Bora–Hansgrohe |
Women's race
| Year | Country | Rider | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Netherlands |
Kirsten Wild | Cylance Pro Cycling |
| 2018 | Australia |
Annette Edmondson | Wiggle High5 |
See also
- Surf Coast Classic, a precursor race held a few days before Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race