Defending champion Mauro Schmid will lead Team Jayco AlUla into the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race on Sunday.
The Swiss champion heads into the one-day race in strong form after an impressive and consistent Tour Down Under where he finishes second overall.
Schmid will be backed by a strong Australian support squad with new signings Hamish McKenzie and Rudy Porter, plus the experienced and powerful duo of Luke Durbridge and Kell O’Brien all back in action in Geelong this weekend.
Grand Tour stage winners Ben O’Connor and Luke Plapp complete the line up, giving the team further options for the demanding one-day WorldTour race.
Team Jayco AlUla:
Luke Durbridge (AUS)
Hamish McKenzie (AUS)
Kell O’Brien (AUS)
Ben O’Connor (AUS)
Luke Plapp (AUS)
Rudy Porter (AUS)
Mauro Schmid (SUI)
Mauro Schmid:
“I think it’s not an easy race to defend, but I feel really good after Tour Down Under and I’ve started a bit better this year, so I’m hoping I can continue the good form and race an aggressive race on Sunday.
For us, we have a good team for the climb with Ben and Plappy, plus Kell is also going super well, so I think the pacing on the climb should be high because we need to reduce the group as much as possible and then we have a good shot if we’ve got numbers in the final and that can be crucial.
It’s definitely possible to defend my title, but you need everything to go right, but that’s what we’ll try to do.”
2026 Cadel Evan Great Ocean Road Race – Race Details:
Sun, 1 Feb – Geelong-Geelong, 182.3km
Photo: Sprint Cycling
