Schwalbe Classic 2020 odds
Schwalbe Classic 2020
The Schwalbe is an exhibition race that precedes the Santos Tour Down Under 2020 and will be ridden 2 days before the Australian stage tour. It will take place in Adelaide, on Sunday, 19 January 2020, and cyclists who will start the Tour Down Under will participate in it.
The Schwalbe Classic, formerly known as People’s Choice Classic or Down Under Classic for sponsorship reasons, has traditionally been run in Adelaide, and this year it will be on a 1.7km circuit in the center of Adelaide.
Cyclists will have to cross the finish line at the end of a long straight on Flinders Street, 30 times to accumulate a total of 51 km before the final sprint.
This exhibition classic is calculated to be finished in approximately 1 hour, so the pace of the race will be high even though it is not an official course. In addition, the organization offers 4 prizes to the first cyclists who cross the finish line on laps 5, 10, 15 and 20.
With the transfer of the course to the center of Adelaide to a circuit that will have 6 curves, it will be important to be well placed in the final laps to avoid a fall that leaves some important cyclists in the bunch without victory options.
Exactly what happened last year, in the final curves of the race a massive fall left out the fight for the victory to the Italian national champion, Elia Viviani.
Before the fall, numerous attacks were made followed from the first laps but the teams with the main sprinters worked to reduce the lead and bring the bunch together until the last kilometer, where the fall occurred. Only the most skilled cyclists avoided the fall, although luck was also important. And the one who had it and came out better positioned was Caleb Ewan, who helped by his teammate Kluge, beat Peter Sagan and Alexander Edmondson, second and third respectively.
This was what happened last season, and what is certain to happen in the January 19th race is that there will be a high pace, attacks in the initial laps, and most likely a massive sprint, if any fall in the final laps does not change the most likely scenario.
The startlist is not completed yet. There are still some cyclists who will compete in the Schwalbe Classic 2020, but we can make a selection with those who think they will fight for the final victory and have confirmed:
- Caleb Ewan: Probably the most favorite, he knows what is to win in this race. He has won it in 2016, 2017 and last year. If nothing avoids it, he will surely be fighting for victory in the final lap on Flinders Street.
- Elia Viviani: Surely he will be willing to get on the bike to fight again for the victory. This time he will hope that luck is on his side and a fall does not leave him out of the race.
- Michael Matthews: Perhaps with fewer options than Ewan and Viviani, but he is a cyclist who can opt for the sprint victory. His last victory was in September, and competing in his country will surely motivate him.