Playing cycling’s version of two-up, Mauro Schmid has won big at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race after his bold gamble.
The reigning Swiss national champion scored the first win for the Australian Jayco AlUla team in the men’s race since the event started a decade ago.
The last victory in the women’s event for the GreenEDGE organisation, the only Australian WorldTour team, was that of Annemiek van Vleuten eight years ago.
Schmid and Australian teammate Chris Harper formed an outstanding one-two combination punch that ultimately floored their rivals in Sunday’s baking heat at Geelong.
First, Harper went clear of a small breakaway group by himself with 26km left in the 183.8km race. That meant Schmid could sit back in the main chase group and conserve energy.
Harper was caught inside 10km left, on the last of four ascents of the steep Challambra Crescent climb that is the key landmark of this race.
Schmid, a pre-race favourite, surprised the rest of the front group moments later with his attack on a slight downhill.
It was a major gamble, given he had to survive at least 7km to the finish and Schmid never led by more than about 10 seconds.
But once they hit the tricky 1.6km finishing straight along the Geelong waterfront, a stretch renowned for producing surprise results, Schmid’s odds shortened significantly.
He held on to win by three seconds, with New Zealander Aaron Gate (XDS Astana) taking out the eight-rider sprint for second ahead of compatriot and defending champion Laurence Pithie (Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe).
Schmid’s tactics were forged from bitter experience, with the win coming two years after he was also the solo leader and caught just 300m from the finish at Geelong.
“Chris, on the front – he did an amazing ride. He was also a big part of this win, because I could just sit back and when we caught him on the last climb, I knew ‘now is the moment’,” Schmid said.
“It was a big help to have Chris up there. To win this race is special.”
Gate and Pithie were pleased with their podium finishes, noting Schmid’s tactic took courage.
“There was definitely a lack of cohesion, everyone tries to rely on each other. You have to gamble for these wins – so I was definitely gambling, big-time,” Pithie said.
“Everyone was gambling; Mauro won.”
Gate and Pithie were among four New Zealanders in the top 10 – a day after compatriot Ally Wollaston also won the women’s event.
But after fellow Swiss Noemi Ruegg won the women’s Tour Down Under this month, Schmid also proved a smart off-season can have the Europeans ready for the early-season Australian heat.
“He was on phenomenal form, which we saw all of last week in Down Under. Hats off to him, he deserved the win,” Gate said.
“He showed that he had the nous and also the legs to do it.”
Apart from the obvious breakthrough win, this was a significant result for Jayco AlUla.
They had worked hard at last week’s Tour Down Under, but were left frustrated and scored no big results.
At times, their tactics were questionable. On Sunday, they were faultless.
They also lost Luke Plapp to wrist surgery on Friday. Along with him being one of the key favourites, his absence also left them a rider short as the temperature hit the high 30s.
“It was definitely not easy for us, especially losing Plappy for this race,” Schmid said.
