WELCOME BACK Community event to welcome elite female cyclists

THE community is invited to meet some of the world’s best female cyclists next week as they are welcomed to the area ahead of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race (CEGORR).

The Surf Coast Shire will hold the Welcome Wave on January 23, which will celebrate the 150 riders who will saddle up for the Elite Women’s Race three days later.

The free event, to again be held on the hill beside the Torquay SLSC clubhouse from 5.30pm, will include a presentation of the 15 teams taking part and a Welcome to Country with smoking ceremony.

People at the Welcome Wave will have the chance to meet and greet members of the 11 international teams confirmed for the women’s UCI 1.1 classification race, including Australian powerhouse Mitchelton-SCOTT.

International teams Trek-Segafredo, Astana Women’s Team, Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport, Swapit Agolico and Rally Cycling will compete in CEGORR for the first time. Reigning champion and Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Australia’s Chloe Hosking, will return to defend her crown with Italian team Ale Cipollini.

Hosking comes into the 2019 CEGORR in excellent form, winning the final stage of the Tour Down Under in Adelaide on Sunday.

Following the Welcome Wave, Winter Olympics gold medallist Lydia Lassila will be the guest speaker at a reception dinner for the cyclists.

Lassila, who lives at Lorne, competed at five Winter Olympics, winning gold in Vancouver in 2010 and bronze at Sochi in 2014.

Cr Margot Smith urged community members to come to the Welcome Wave.

“We are so proud of this event. It stands alone on the world cycling tour with its specific focus on celebrating the female riders,” she said.

“It is now established as a highlight on our events calendar and provides opportunity for people to help ring in the teams and mingle with these worldclass athletes. We love having the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in Surf Coast Shire and we are delighted an athlete of Lydia’s profile will be joining us this year for the Welcome Wave.”

For more information on the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, head to cadelevansgreatoceanroadrace.com.au. For more stories, see page 17.