As riders were filtering into Victoria, after the flight from South Australia's Tour Down Under, the news was released that the expected course for the 1.Pro women's and men's Surf Coast Classic one-day races on Wednesday and Thursday would not be what was originally anticipated given a number of areas in the original course are now under warnings due to a bushfire burning in the Otways.
The original start line of the one-day race, Lorne, is – at the time of writing – faced with a Watch and Act warning while parts of the men's course, which includes Barwon Heads and Forrest, were on Monday afternoon being warned to evacuate immediately.
