Jayco-AlUla may not have had the Tour Down Under they were looking for but thanks to an unrelenting solo effort from Swiss champion Mauro Schmid they have managed to end the Australian summer on a high note, with the team’s first victory at the men’s Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.
Things didn’t look to be going well for the men’s squad when the Australian team walked away from the racing in South Australia without so much as a podium result and then they also lost a key card, Luke Plapp, who instead of pinning on a number was getting surgery on his wrist.
"It was definitely not easy for us, especially also losing Plappy for this race,” said Schmid. “He played a key part in this race in the last two years, he was always very, very prominent, he would have been a big help, I think, for us.
“Also being one man short, it's not easy in a race like this but still, I think the whole team was super motivated for this one. I think we all had great shape, and we didn't get the reward in TDU. Everybody already in the Surf Coast classic, did a very good ride, we didn't get the reward with the result.”
However, on Sunday Schmid changed that pattern, finally moving the team onto the podium in the Australian international racing and delivering a long awaited shift up from the second place that Simon Clarke delivered for the team at the inaugural edition in 2015.
“I think to now win this race is special,” said Schmid.
He was heartily congratulated by his teammates, including Luke Durbridge who is one of the riders that helped set the team off into the New Year with the men’s elite Australian Championships stripes in their fold. Durbridge claimed the road title on home roads and Plapp the time trial jersey and now the squad have bookended the season of home-nation racing with top step appearances.
Chris Harper, who was reeled in at just under 10km to go, also joined Schmid at the podium ceremony after claiming the most combative rider jersey.
“it was, was a big help to have Chris up there, because, we could just sit back and let the other other teams chase,” said Schmid.
It certainly wasn’t an easy day out though, the temperatures that nudged 40°C perhaps playing into the hands of the team that was particularly well acclimatised to the conditions, with Schmid arriving early and the bulk of the team on home turf in Australia.
“It was definitely a really really tough day, especially with the heat,” said Schmid. “I knew the training was quite good, so I'm quite well adapted to the heat but still, I had to stay really, really calm the first three laps, to try to save my legs for the one attack, and worked out in the end.”
