VIDEO | Sam Welsford wins Cadel Evans Criterium - "You could see everyone starting to get really tired"

Today was the day where Australia's Surf Coast Classic was supposed to be held in Torquay, however extreme weather conditions forced the race to be cancelled. Instead, the organizers of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race organized a criterium, which was won by INEOS Grenadiers' Sam Welsford.

The Surf Coast Classic was initially already expected to provide the sprinters with an opportunity. However, as was the case at the Tour Down Under's Old Willunga stage, the strong winds and temperatures above the 30-degree mark created a risk for wildfires in the region. The Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race may suffer similar fate, however the race - finishing in Geelong - would likely instead be rerouted, not cancelled.

However, a criterium was held today in Geelong, with the riders making the trip to Cadel Evans' hometown earlier. A 2-kilometer circuit was used for a criterium which had 50 kilometers in total, and in which a group of just under a dozen riders split away from the peloton early on.

However the flat terrain did not allow for differences to then be made amongst these, and with Sam Welsford in the group, there was a clear favourite. But the Australian criterium specialist was able to keep it all together and then sprint to victory - not a UCI win, but his second since joining INEOS.

In words to SBS, he described the day's racing in Australia: “Hats off to our breakaway, we worked really well together and everyone fully committed to the finish. It was a hard one out there, for sure. On this course, you have to be ready for anything. It was getting really tough, you could see everyone starting to get really tired down there in the crosswind, and I knew it was going to snap eventually.”