Tobias Lund Andresen (Picnic PostNL) flew throughout the road in first place after an action-packed version of the boys’s Surf Coast Traditional the place each the climbs, crosswinds and a dedication to take the sting out of the dash of the dominant ending pressure of Sam Welsford (Crimson Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) set the race alight.
Andresen overcame the Australian, who was feeling the impacts of the robust 157km day on the 1.1 occasion from Lorne to Torquay that acts as an entree to the Cadel Evans Nice Ocean Street race. Tim Torn Teutenberg (Lidl-Trek) was third which implies, that after some close to misses in South Australia, the 22-year-old has already managed to drag off his first podium place after spending lower than a month within the WorldTour.
It too was an early season achievement for Andresen, who had the intention of taking his first one-day win this yr and pulled it off earlier than January was over when he claimed the difficult dash, which has a left-hand flip into the ultimate kilometre.
“I used to be across the nook in Sam’s wheel in, like fifth place, so I used to be very comfortable,” stated Andresen in Torquay as he appeared again at what was going by way of his thoughts throughout that successful effort. “However then, yeah, I acquired swarmed in order that second you simply have to remain calm – you are not going to get something out of dashing your self.”
“A bit fortunate for me, Teutenberg, he opened up an early dash so I adopted his wheel after which if you see a end line, you do not take into consideration the rest than simply getting there first.”
There have been loads of moments, nonetheless, earlier than the ultimate run-in on the aggressive day of racing when there was doubt about whether or not it would even come all the way down to a last bunch cost all through, with the ultimate transfer of reeled-in being a break of Casper Pedersen (Soudal-QuickStep), Kelland O’Brien (Jayco-AlUla) and Michal Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers) that was caught within the last kilometres.
The way it unfolded
It was the second version of the Surf Coast Traditional for the boys, with the 157km race setting off from Lorne in delicate situations after a foreshore sign-on, with a backdrop of surfers out within the waves.
The 1.1 race coated a lot the identical terrain as Wednesday’s girls’s occasion, solely differing in the truth that so as to add in one other 40km it looped out to Forrest – a city with a labyrinth of mountain bike trails hidden among the many timber. There was no change to the brutal begin, nonetheless, with riders out on the 10km climb earlier than the race acquired underway so that they have been able to react to what was to return.
There have been, in fact, assaults as quickly because the flag dropped on the ascent, with solo efforts inspiring teams after which turning into splits. There have been additionally loads of riders slipping off the again, hoping that they’d be capable to bridge once more as soon as it eased. Some may however others among the many lengthy tail of riders chasing as soon as the race went by way of Dean’s Marsh, couldn’t,
Because the race set off by way of Barwon Downs and on to Forrest the assaults stored flying, in addition to the splits however it was not till it had ticked all the way down to round 100km left within the race {that a} extended group acquired away out entrance. First, it was round 15 after which the peloton cut up once more as one other group peeled off in pursuit, catching the preliminary bunch and swelling the quantity to round 40. The group was properly populated by riders from Picnic PostNL, EF Training–Easypost, LidL-Trek and Soudal-Quickstep, with Mauro Schmid amongst them for Jayco-AlUla.
Crimson Bull-Bora Hansgrohe was pushing the chase behind however the hole simply stored stretching, creeping as much as round 35 seconds by the point they went by way of the second feed zone with 75km left to go and it then stretched out to over a minute with round 60km to go. After that, the reeling-in began and by the point the race had round 40km to go the hole was all the way down to 30 seconds, with Crimson-Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe on the chase as soon as once more.
At 35km to go the catch was made, and that in fact opened the door once more with the bunch being stretched, splits and a number of assaults occurring after which the crosswinds hit. The strain was on and the sphere was cut up into a number of teams at 28km to go, whereas 9 riders have been out the entrance.
There was some coming collectively behind of the teams behind however Ineos Grenadiers was within the field seat out entrance with 4 within the main group and hole of about 20 seconds with round 20km to go. The group contained Lucas Hamilton, Michael Kwiatkowski, Ben Swift and Geraint Thomas for Ineos Grenadiers and likewise Casper Pedersen (Soudal-QuickStep), Sven Erik Bystrøm (Groupama-FDJ), Kelland O’Brien (Jayco-AlUla), Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) and Bryan Coquard (Cofidis).
It then became a bunch of three, Pedersen, O’Brien and Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers) however they have been caught within the last kilometres leaving the action-paced race to be determined with a difficult dash, particularly given many lead-out groups had been drained by such a tough day of racing.
When a spent Welsford launched from his, leaping onto the appropriate wheel proved to be Andresen’s salvation.
Outcomes
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