Race a last holiday hurrah for Barwon Heads

A BARWON Heads business owner has described the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race as a great end to a busy summer holiday season.

Mangroves Bar & Grill owner David Peters said the town was “chockers” over the weekend, as big crowds gathered to get a glimpse of pelotons flying down the main street.

“I think it all went really well,” he said.

“It was well planned this year by the city and there wasn’t too much disruption and everything flowed nicely.”

Mr Peters said during the race many onlookers stood in front of his shop, located at the corner of Hitchcock Avenue and Bridge Road, because it provided a great vantage point.

Now in his third year of business, Mr Peters said this summer had been his best yet, but acknowledged good weather was a big help too.

After cyclists travelled through Barwon Heads, the race changed direction and hugged the coast at Thirteenth Beach, where they navigated and positioned themselves against the local coastal wind.

Queenslander Jay McCarthy (BORA-hansgrohe) won on Sunday in extremely hot conditions and became the first Australian to win the UCI WorldTour Elite Men’s Race, while Australian sprinter Chloe Hosking (Alé-Cipollini) won the Deakin University Elite Women’s Race UCI 1.1 on Saturday.