Lund Andresen sprints to Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race victory ahead of Brennan

The Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race began in unusually gentle weather for an Australian summer one-day race. It was bright, mild, and nowhere near the furnace the peloton has already dealt with in January.

A few teams arrived looking slightly patched up. UAE Team Emirates started with a reduced group after injuries, while Ineos Grenadiers lost a rider late when Sam Welsford signed on but could not start feeling unwell. 

Once the flag dropped for real, the break went almost immediately, and it was Vegard Stake Laengen (UAE) who jumped across despite his team being short on numbers. He was joined by the young duo Oliver Peace (Picnic PostNL) and Julian Baudry (Australia), and the three settled into a clean rhythm out on the coast.

Behind, the tempo was never allowed to drift. Jayco AlUla (for Schmid) and Visma | Lease a Bike (for Brennan) took the initiative early, setting the tempo on the front and keeping the break on a short leash. Then the wind arrived. On the exposed roads near Torquay the bunch snapped into nervous lines, teams fighting for the sheltered side, a few riders momentarily caught out as the pace surged and the break’s advantage began to melt.

Once the race hit Challambra Crescent, the tone changed again. The break was reeled in, counter moves flew, and the front of the peloton became a permanent fight for position. Bahrain Victorious began to impose themselves and Santiago Buitrago attacked a few times on the climbs. Nothing went, but it wore the peloton down and helped form the selection.

The late move that briefly looked like it might stick came from Chris Harper (Australia) and Anders Skaarseth (Uno-X Mobility). They carried a small gap onto the final circuit, forcing the favourites to commit. On the last climb the pressure rose sharply, a crash in the rear added more chaos, and the front group was suddenly reduced to a select band. Luke Plapp drove the climb, the descent was ferocious, and the race funnelled into a fast, edgy run to the line.

Still, it would not settle. Buitrago attacked again, Luke Lamperti (EF Education-EasyPost) followed, Brennan bridged, and then the elastic snapped back. With around twenty riders together in the final kilometres, every acceleration was answered and every gap closed.

In the finish, Brennan launched first and did it from distance after covering a late kick. Tobias Lund Andresen timed it better, waited that fraction longer, and came past with clean speed to take the win for Decathlon CMA CGM. Brady Gilmore rounded out third. 

The victory added to a strong start to the season for Lund Andresen, who already won a stage and finished on the podium several times at the Tour Down Under.

After the finish, Andresen admitted it was touch and go all day whether he would still be there to sprint. 

“It’s always a 50 50 in this race,” he said, referring to the repeated trips over Challambra Crescent. “If they’re going all out every time probably it’s a bit hard for me but with the support of the guys, and just kind of dropping through the bunch the first couple of times, and being brought back, I just managed to squeeze over the last time.”

He also pointed to the final lap plan with his teammates. “Then from there, I told the guys with one lap to go, if they put me perfect position the last time in, I would win the race. So I was feeling good, I put myself out there but yeah, it worked out.”