Ice-cold Swiss rider delivers home victory for Jayco-AlUla in scorching Cadel Evans Road Race, Astana keeps winning
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Follow us on GoogleMauro Schmid has claimed victory at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. The 25-year-old Swiss rider from Jayco-AlUla gave his team a home win, breaking away from an elite group after the final climb of the day and soloing to the finish.
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The one-day race, which traditionally wraps up the Australian road season, was once again decided on and just after the climb of Challambra Crescent, with the summit located 10 kilometers from the finish line. A group of ten riders crested the climb together, including Schmid’s teammate Chris Harper, who had already attempted an attack but couldn’t make it stick.
On the short descent followed by a brief rise, Schmid managed to break free. Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe looked to have things under control with Finn Fisher-Black and the fast-finishing Laurence Pithie in the group, but hesitation cost them dearly. Meanwhile, Schmid proved his strength under the blistering Australian sun.
Wearing his Swiss national champion’s jersey, Schmid crossed the line three seconds ahead of the chasing group. Behind him, Aaron Gate (XDS Astana Team) won the sprint for second, securing valuable UCI points for Alexandre Vinokourov’s squad. Last year’s winner Laurence Pithie finished third, coming up short in his title defense.
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Mauro Schmid won because he already lost once
"This is my first WorldTour one-day race victory," an ecstatic Mauro Schmid said after the race, speaking through Jayco-AlUla’s official channels. "This is really special for me, especially in such an important race for the team, so I’m super happy. Chris (Harper, ed.) rode an incredible race and played a huge role in this win because his attack on the final climb allowed me to stay relaxed in the group."
"When we caught him, I knew that was the moment to go," Schmid continued in his post-race analysis. "Everyone was at their limit, but I still had something left in my legs. I’ve made a similar move in this race before and got caught just 300 meters from the finish, so I knew I had to go all-in this time—and that helped me. The whole team was really motivated for this race, so this is very special for us."
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Astana strings UCI points together, now thanks to Gate
Astana also had reason to celebrate, even though the Kazakh squad has yet to win a race this year. They’ve been stacking podium finishes, which has earned them a massive haul of UCI points. So far, Christian Scaroni has finished second in both the Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana 1969 and Trofeo Calvià, while Clément Champoussin took third and Scaroni placed fifth in the Gran Premio Castellón. In total, Astana has already racked up 13 top-10 finishes this season.
Gate’s second place in a WorldTour one-day race is another big score—worth 150 UCI points. "The whole team put in a huge effort to keep me in the front group and set me up for the sprint," Gate said. "Everything went according to plan, except we couldn’t close the gap to Schmid. We sprinted for second place, which is still a solid result."
Results Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race 2025
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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