"The entire team should be proud of this achievement" - Aaron Gate secures a surprising second place for XDS Astana in the last race on Australian soil

XDS Astana Team continues to perform strongly from the start of this season and today they have scored perhaps their best result yet. After not so good showing at Tour Down Under, they weren't in a position of favourites for the last race in Australia, but Aaron Gate turned predictions upside down to secure an impressive second place at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, winning a sprint against the likes of Laurence Pithie and Corbin Strong.

"The whole team put in a huge effort today to set me up for the best possible position in the finale. Our plan was to be in the lead group and fight for the sprint. My teammates stayed with me the whole time, helping me position well before the circuit and then leading into the climb, so everything went as planned," New Zealand champion Gate said on a team website.

"It was extremely hot today, which made the race even tougher – many riders struggled in these conditions," he explained as the thermometer showed staggering 41°C at times. "On the final climb, only a few of us were left in the front group when Mauro Schmid attacked. We couldn’t close the gap immediately, and after that, it turned into a tactical battle."

"In the end, Schmid made his move at the right moment and managed to stay away, while Aaron won the sprint from the group behind. I believe this was the best possible result for us today, and the entire team should be proud of this achievement," adds XDS Astana's sports director Mark Renshaw.