After a two-year hiatus, the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race will return to the UCI World Tour calendar in 2023.

The two one-day races will take place one week after the Santos Tour Down Under concludes, January 15-17 for the women and January 17-22 for the men.

The 2023 UCI road calendar has been released, confirming that race talkies, which previously filled the midweek gap between the Tour Down Under and Cadel races, will not return next year.

"We are working closely with all parties involved to ensure the success of the 2023 event, which includes the UCI WorldTour Elite Men's Road Race, the Deakin University Elite Women's Road Race, and the TAC People's Ride. 2023 will focus on hosting these three major races and currently there are no midweek There are currently no mid-week races scheduled for 2023," the race website states.

The Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race will return as part of the Women's World Tour in 2023 after a two-year cancellation of COVID-19 and a debut race in 2020. This year's course is 143 km, an increase of 22 km from the previous race. The route begins with a 110-km long course on the Geelong waterfront south of the starting point and heads to the Surf Coast. Back in the city, the final 33 km will feature two short laps, a 1.8 km climb up Charambra Crescent with an average gradient of 7% and a steep gradient of 17%, passing Queen's Park and finishing in Geelong.

The men's race is 176 km, about 5 km shorter than before, and begins with a similarly long loop to the south. This shorter loop will be done four times for the final 68 km.

Race director Scott Sunderland designed the course in consultation with Evans. He noted that the urban circuit would bring excitement to the spectators, especially with the climb up Charambra.

Dries Devenyns (Quick Step Alfa Vinyl) won the 2020 men's race, defeating Pavel Sivakov (then Team Ineos) in a two-man sprint.

Four-time Olympian and 2011 Tour de France winner Cadel Evans presented the TAC People's Ride on the Geelong waterfront on September 28.

"The past two years have been challenging for all of us, but thanks to the many people who have continued our quest and hard work, we are pleased to welcome back riders old and new for the TAC People's Ride on the Bellarine Peninsula and Great Ocean Road." Evans said in a press release.