The Ineos Grenadiers team will take a great team for the second edition of the Surf Coast Classic to be held this January 25 in Australia. Among those chosen is the Ecuadorian classics rider Jhonatan Narvaez.
The South American rider, who started this year’s season in excellent form, winning the Down Under Classic and finishing 2nd in the Tour Down Under, will be one of the leaders of the British squad for the new Australian one-day race.
For this international competition, general manager John Allert also called up Belgian Laurens De Plus, Italians Elia Viviani and Filippo Ganna, as well as Englishmen Joshua Tarling, Ben Swift and Leo Hayter.
The second edition of the Surf Coast Classic (1.1), formerly known as the Race Torquay, will run over a 158.6-kilometer course starting in Lorne and finishing in Torquay.
This Australian race for sprinters is contested between the Tour Down Under and the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, returning to the calendar three years later, after being suspended in 2021 and 2022 due to the covid-19 pandemic. The reigning champion of the race is Ireland’s Sam Bennett.
Formerly known as the Race Torquay, the race is ideal for classics specialists, but can also end in a mass sprint. The favorites are Calew Ewan, Biniam Girmay and Jhonatan Narvaez.
The race starts right away with a long climb, 9.3 kilometers at 4.3%. This will provide an opportunity for the strong riders to climb up the road and put the peloton under pressure. The slightly hilly finish may put some in difficulty, so many riders have a chance.
Most of the race is rather flat, but in the final 8 kilometers there are two small summits and a descent that could instigate dangerous moves.
Source: ciclismo al día