Elia Viviani (Ineos Grenadiers) was active in the sprint for the Surf Coast Classic, but had to accept defeat once again when she was passed by Biniam Girmay (Intermarche Wanty) just before the finish. Corbin Strong (Israel/Premier Tech) was the last man on the podium.

The 34-year-old Italian finished second in Campbelltown on stage 3 of the Tour Down Under, seemingly rediscovering his sprint speed after the disappointment of 2023. Only Sam Welsford (Bora-Hansgrohe) beat him on stage 3 of the Tour Down Under. 'It was a good day, but I'm a little disappointed. When you lose in the last 50 meters, you can't be happy," Viviani said just before the finish. [I knew it was a tailwind sprint, so I waited until the last 200 meters and then went for it. In the last 50 meters, I saw Gilmey's wheel coming up next to mine. I managed to hold on and try to stay in front, but Gilmey passed me.

Viviani was especially disappointed that he could not finish his teammate's great leadout.

"Everyone did a fantastic job. Swifty, Ben Swift, Filippo Ganna, and Josh Tarling were perfect. It's not often that any team gets to enjoy a great lead-out like that.

"We're still fast in the sprints, so we have a chance to win the race in the leadout," Viviani insisted.

He won the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in 2019 and hopes his form and excellent leadout will help him in Sunday's World Tour event.

Viviani will then be in Australia to run the Track World Cup in Adelaide. He won gold in the omnium at the 2016 Rio Olympics and bronze in Tokyo. He is the honorary leader of the Italian track team because of his success and experience and hopes to medal again in Paris this summer. After a 14-year career at the World Tour level, he may retire from road racing.

"If I need to lose today to win on Sunday, so be it. It's a good sign for Sunday," Vivani said, trying to find positives from the loss and remain optimistic for the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.

"We have some options as a team. We're going to do another big training ride on Friday, scout the course, especially the final circuit, and rest up for Sunday."