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Great Ocean Road Classic - Discussion
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 16-10-2026 02:33
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Directeur Sportif
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 Great Ocean Road Classic
The Great Ocean Road Classic has run pretty much continuously in the mangame calendar since 2013. Just taking 2021 off. While officially one for the sprinters others have had their say with Askey winning from a break in 2024 and Wohler and Katrasnik both outwitting the sprinters within the last 5 years.
The course is not the hardest at only 172k with a few climbs but there a lot of bumps in the last 30k which could cause the chasing teams some stress.
Last year the sprinters came out on top with Bryan Coquard taking the win for Spark. Coquard was the top sprinter last year and this year it is expected to be  Ewan. He is the top name on the start list and will have another chance to stamp his authority on the peloton here on home ground.  Coquard is also back for his new team Peugot, this race will test how much Father Time has impacted his toughness.
| Rider | FL | SP | AC | RS | ST | | Ewan | 75 | 83 | 81 | 71 | 73 | | Coquard | 70 | 81 | 78 | 69 | 66 |  Jakobsen | 74 | 80 | 80 | 73 | 75 |  Liu | 74 | 80 | 80 | 69 | 76 | | Zabel | 73 | 80 | 78 | 69 | 73 |  Walls | 74 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 73 |  Van Poppel | 71 | 80 | 77 | 70 | 73 |  Enger | 72 | 80 | 77 | 72 | 70 |  Stalberg | 70 | 80 | 76 | 78 | 67 |  Willems | 75 | 79 | 79 | 78 | 72 |  Kamberaj | 75 | 79 | 78 | 73 | 73 |  Willwohl | 73 | 79 | 78 | 67 | 71 |  Boudat | 73 | 79 | 78 | 74 | 71 |  Bol | 76 | 79 | 77 | 77 | 75 |
Ewan and Coquard are the fastest names on the startlist, and Jakobsen and Liu are probably the other stand out favorites. From there are a lot of similar riders. If toughness matters, watch for Willems, Kamberaj and Bol. It is also an important test for Stalberg, if he can thrive here, it will be a good omen for his season.
Peugot have sent Zabel to support Coquard which gives him a fast leadout while Ewan relies on Gross, who isn’t as fast. Major should lead out Jakobsen while Page leads out Liu. Gross is the slowest of those 4 lead outs.
Looking to deny the sprinters a sprint will be:
| Rider | FL | SP | AC | RS | ST |  Veyhe | 80 | 56 | 78 | 71 | 66 |  Vangheluwe | 79 | 62 | 71 | 78 | 76 | | Antonijevic | 78 | 71 | 74 | 74 | 67 |  Dversnes | 78 | 69 | 77 | 76 | 76 | | Abrahamsen | 77 | 72 | 75 | 76 | 73 |  Medvedev | 77 | 71 | 70 | 77 | 77 |  Biermans | 77 | 66 | 67 | 74 | 71 | | Osborne | 77 | 58 | 63 | 76 | 74 | | Bayer | 76 | 64 | 74 | 71 | 72 |
It is a dangerous group of roulers, Grieg sends two great Norwegian trouble makers in Dversnes and Abrahamsen. Veyhe and Antonijevic both have a history with late attacks. With Ewan being the dominant favorite and bringing a group of solid but not spectacular roulers to support him it will be interesting to see if they can control the race.
23 teams and 179 riders take the start.
Startlist
 
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 16-10-2026 22:58
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| jackgibbs |
Posted on 16-10-2026 03:33
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Non-cobble race of the year I least expect to get a return on, not all that surprised to see us with the highest race numbers on the startlist.
Will be happy to see us fly the flag in the break. Would be ecstatic to get a points return, and Hayakawa did a decent enough job surfing wheels within the (weaker) field at TDU to score a couple Top-10s, so maybe that's not entirely impossible. |
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| trekbmc |
Posted on 16-10-2026 03:48
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Team Leader
Posts: 7410
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Interesting that Biermans made the preview over our two stronger roleurs in El sabbahi and Nielands, hopefully that doesn't foreshadow a non-race from those two.
In theory this is a good race for El Sabbahi, but in practice since he shouldn't be attacking his huge flat stat might not really play a role. Will be pretty happy as long as he participates in the sprint so we don't leave with nothing. Not too high of a race number at least is a decent sign.
More importantly I hope my favourite rider Veyhe can win. <3
Thanks for the preview UU!
"What done is, is one." - Benji Naesen
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| Heine |
Posted on 16-10-2026 05:44
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 5115
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Had some extra race days on Zabel so sent him here as main leadout for Coquard. Didn't test it but made it possible to send Welsford to another race as main leadout. Hope I can get something good out of it. With Antonijevic and Rutsch here as flat riders to help ensure a sprint and a good train I have good hopes for a good result from Coquard even though Ewan is the big favorite
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| cunego59 |
Posted on 16-10-2026 06:56
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Team Manager
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Once again hoping for a Top 10 here for Jago Willems. If he can repeat or even improve on the 6th place from the DUC, I'd be more than happy. Curious to see how the Peugeot team works out, I think Zabel is the strongest leadout we've seen in any race so far.
Thanks for the preview, looking forward to the report 
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| Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 16-10-2026 07:11
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Team Leader
Posts: 6396
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It's a demanding schedule for Willwohl to fly here right after an intense week in Mexico, but we are hoping his recent form can be frutiful Down under too.
Thanks for the preview Ulrich!
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| Caspi |
Posted on 16-10-2026 07:16
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Protected Rider
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Why is Baterdene in 191, when we've also brought Sureda? Oh well, neither should score - our best bet is in the breakaway or a late attack from Medvedev.
Thanks for the preview.
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| Laurens147 |
Posted on 16-10-2026 08:58
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Sprinter
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Veyhe and Cherkasov as attacking options and Zingle for the sprint, fingers crossed 
Thanks UU for the preview!
MG - Lotto - Caloi
[MG] New Manager of the Year - PCM.daily Awards 2022
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| Booker |
Posted on 16-10-2026 09:08
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Posts: 1242
Joined: 03-07-2013
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As expected, a strong field, therefore we decided not to mix it up with any of Hesters' race days.
Hoping Dewulf can be a nuisance and get away with a late attack, though I don't have very high hopes!
Thanks for the preview Ulrich
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| jt1109 |
Posted on 16-10-2026 09:10
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Very interesting race as has been mentioned above can be a bit of a breakaway race at times so not real goals for the team as such just DVP to be near the front of the peloton sprint.
Prediction if its a sprint Ewan has to be a huge fav, very interested to see a Zabel, Coquard 1-2 punch in a leadout could be deadly or a disaster |
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| betancur |
Posted on 16-10-2026 11:31
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Wisniowski for attacks, Kamberaj for the sprints, let's go. |
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| Dippofix |
Posted on 16-10-2026 13:59
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 4122
Joined: 29-01-2013
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Excited to see how Ewan goes in his home race - don't have the strongest support squad, so hopefully the likes of Peugeot will also help make sure the break has no chance. I'll be very interested to see how the Zabel-Coquard combo goes, could be a big advantage over Ewan or end up in confusion.
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| Marcovdw |
Posted on 16-10-2026 17:06
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Grand Tour Champion
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Jakobsen has some promise in Juarez, but also some disappointment. Let's see how he rolls in a classic
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