Tuesday, 29 January 2019 Cover photo: Kirsty Baxter The fifth annual Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race event was a tremendous success this year, with some of the world’s top cyclists joining KordaMentha Real Estate’s men’s and women’s elite teams at Geelong and the Victorian surf coast for some impressive racing over the weekend. KordaMentha Real Estate is a proud supporter of both the Men’s and Women’s Elite Australian teams for the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, which is a UCI World Tour event and is growing in popularity each year. Organisers reported the largest crowds in the history of the Cadel Road Race, with tens of thousands of people lining the foreshore and streets of Geelong to watch the peloton fly by. It was a warm start to the event on Thursday evening, with the searing heat testing the endurance of our KordaMentha Real Estate men’s and women’s teams competing at the Towards Zero Race Melbourne event. The warm temperatures forced the cancellation of this year’s Ride4All event. Fortunately, cooler conditions marked the start of the Swisse People’s Ride and the Deakin University Elite Women’s Race on Saturday. Photo: Connor McKenzie Leading the KordaMentha Real Estate men's team, Nathan Elliott managed to take out the Mapei Sprint classification. The KordaMentha Real Estate women’s team put in an impressive effort throughout the entire Elite Women’s race, with Emily Roper and Rachel Neylan both finishing in the top 10. Cuban cyclist Arlenis Sierra, from Astana Team, took out first place, in a well-contested race watched by thousands lining the streets of Geelong and Barwon Heads, as well as plenty of people watching at home on Channel 7. It was another great contest the following day for the Elite Men’s race, with a number of strong performances by our KordaMentha Real Estate men’s team. In the end, it was a valiant effort by Italian sprint star Elia Viviani that won the day, as he held off rival Caleb Ewan to take first place in the Men’s Elite race. “It was a great effort not only by the KordaMentha men and women’s teams, but also by the international cyclists who pushed our local riders to their limits,” said Managing Partner of KordaMentha Real Estate, Berrick Wilson. “In order to be the best, you need to compete against the greats, and I have no doubt that our cyclists will have drawn invaluable experience from testing themselves in this way. “They should be proud of their efforts.” Photo: Kirsty Baxter KordaMentha Real Estate is also a sponsor of the 2019 Jayco Herald Sun Tour, which starts on Wednesday.