The Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race is being praised for its impact on the region.
Temperatures closing in on 40 degrees did nothing to dissuade crowds from lining the course for the 10th year of the race.
While the attendance is not yet clear, last years event drew more than 140,000 people.
Swiss rider Mauro Schmid put in a powerful final 10kms to claim the men’s road race.
Schmid claiming victory yesterday in sweltering heat for Team Jayco AlUla in the 184km race.
“I had some good memories from this race two years ago but you never really know in which direction it goes,” he said.
“Can be a bunch sprint or a really small group. It was a really big goal.
“When I saw how hot it was and I felt the first lap, [I thought] that it would be probably quite a small group.
“I was thinking it could be a good moment but I actually wanted to try it on the really last kicker, otherwise I still saw there were still some quite forceful sprinters, so I knew to go for the win I needed to try get away. It worked out quite well.”
Ally Wollaston backed up her win in the Surf Coast classic on Wednesday to win the women’s race on Saturday.
