Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race 2024

Laurence Pithie edges out Natnael Tesfazion to win Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race

Laurence Pithie (Groupama-FDJ) won the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race to claim his first WorldTour victory. 

In a photo-finish, the 19-year old New Zealand rider outsprinted Natnael Tesfazion (Lidl-Trek) and Georg Zimmermann (Intermarché-Wanty) in the sprint of a reduced peloton in Geelong.

On the final lap, a peloton of about 50 riders entered the Challambra Crescent climb together, but multiple attacks forced a split of 18 riders to battle for victory. Multiple attacks intensified the pressure, but the small group re-formed in the final kilometre.

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Taking place on January 28, 2024, the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race will be the first one-day classics and the second event in the WorldTour following the Santos Tour Down Under. 

Marking Cadel Evans’ final professional race, the Victorian race was first held in 2015 and stepped up to the WorldTour in 2017

Last year, Marius Mayrhofer (dsm-firmenich) outsprinted Hugo Page (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) and Simon Clarke (Israel-Premier Tech) to take the win out of a reduced peloton.

Last held in 2020, the mid-week race, the Surf Coast Classic, on January 25, makes its return as the official precursor to the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race..

Join Cyclingnews' coverage of the 2024 Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race  with race reports, results, photo galleries, news and race analysis.

After making some adjustments from previous years and running the race in the opposite direction in its 2023 return after a two-year hiatus, the organisers have continued with the same Deakin University Elite Women’s route for this year’s race.

With the start and finish at the Geelong waterfront, the 176km course takes the riders out of Geelong and past the rolling farmland hills, before heading toward the Surf Coast, Bells Beach and heading back to Geelong via the Great Ocean Road. 

The Geelong loop, tackled four times by the men, includes the punchy Challambra climb, which has a habit of splitting the field before riders head back toward the waterfront for the final dash to the line.