Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott) outsprinted Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe) and Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) to the line to win the People’s Choice Classic.
Ewan was also the 2016 winner of the People’s Choice Classic and was too strong in the final sprint at the end of the 50.6 kilometer event raced over 22 laps of a 2.3 kilometer street circuit in downtown Adelaide.
Young Australian Ben O’Connor led the race until the 19th lap when Team Sky and Katusha-Alpecin moved to the front of the peloton, trying to set up the race for their sprinters. Sagan then moved up on the 21st lap and looked a major threat until Ewan muscled his way into the clear.
“This is a great race to build your confidence and I sprinted a little earlier than I planned,” Ewan said.
Sunday’s race does not count towards general classification in the Tour Down Under that begins on Tuesday with the first of six stages, a 145 kilometer ride from Unley in suburban Adelaide to Lyndoch in the scenic Barossa Valley.
People’s Choice Classic 2017 results:
| 1 | Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott) | 1:03:41 |
| 2 | Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe) | ,, |
| 3 | Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) | ,, |
| 4 | Niccolo Bonifazio (Bahrain Merida) | ,, |
| 5 | Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo) | ,, |
| 6 | Mark Renshaw (Dimension Data) | ,, |
| 7 | Sean De Bie (Lotto Soudal) | ,, |
| 8 | Baptiste Planckaert (Katusha-Alpecin) | ,, |
| 9 | Patrick Bevin (Cannondale-Drapac) | ,, |
| 10 | Jasha Sütterlin (Movistar) | ,, |
