Crowds roll out for Cadel’s fifth race

THERE was fast and furious cycling in the Geelong region over the weekend, but thousands of recreational riders also saddled up as part of the fifth edition of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race (CEGORR).

The Surf Coast Shire again hosted its Welcome Wave event to celebrate the event’s female cyclists, with a large crowd taking part in the Welcome to Country ceremony next to the Torquay SLSC clubhouse on Wednesday.

Winter Olympics gold medallist (and Lorne resident) Lydia Lassila was the guest speaker at the formal reception afterwards.

Friday afternoon saw the Family Ride, with hundreds of cyclists young and old getting on their
bikes.

After the temperature dropped 14 degrees in the space of 90 minutes, everyone made their way to Steampacket Gardens to enjoy the picturesque ride along the Geelong Waterfront.

The 1.6km course – which passed under the official Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race start/
finish gantry – gave riders of all ages a taste of what was to come on the weekend.

Several of the Elite Men’s and Elite Women’s cyclists joined in, including BORA-hansgrohe (who handed out feed bags at the start/finish line), CCCLiv Team, Team Sunweb and Alé Cipollini.

On Saturday, it was time for the People’s Ride, with about 3,000 cyclists rolling out for the 35km, 65km and 115km courses.

Familiar faces in the peloton included Geelong Cats superstar Patrick Dangerfield, comedian Hamish Blake, Melbourne Demons ruckman Max Gawn and People’s Ride ambassador Alex Johnson, who finished the 115km course while in recovery from his sixth knee reconstruction.