The Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race is the first of its kind for bike racing in Australia. It is embraced by the world’s best cyclists as an outstanding one-day classic race, and accompanied with public participation rides for cyclists of all ages and abilities. Mapei, a multinational leader in chemical products for the construction industry, came into cycling in 1993 to sponsor a UCI first-division team. Cadel Evans joined the Mapei-Quickstep Cycling Team in 2002 and continued training for many years at the Mapei Sport Research Center in Varese, Italy. Mapei's relationship with Cadel continues to this day, and Mapei Australia has been a premium sponsor of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race since its inception in 2015. 

Cadel achieved his ultimate ambition in 2011, becoming Australia’s first and only Tour de France winner. In addition to his incredible cycling career, Cadel has long advocated for using cycling to promote health and wellbeing, gender equality and community participation. Speaking about the partnership, Cadel reflected upon the contribution of Mapei to his successes and cycling in general. “Mapei supported me throughout my career, from joining the Mapei-Quickstep Cycling Team at the Mapei Sport Centre in Italy under the supervision of Professor Aldo Sassi, former Director of Mapei Sport Research Centre, who made such a key contribution to my career, including my win in the 2011 Tour de France. I am proud to say my close ties with Mapei continue today”.  

2025 will be the 10^th anniversary of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, and it promises to be the biggest and best edition to date. The spectacle of the world’s best taking on the famous coastline course, finishing with the epic circuits around Geelong and the Challambra climb, promising action-packed cycling across the weekend’s men’s and women’s elite World Tour races. It is a wonderful backdrop for Mapei to celebrate the ten-year partnership with the event and the company’s 30-year passion and commitment to cycling.

Speaking about the partnership, Marco DeSantis, General Manager at Mapei Australia, said, “We are proud of our long-standing partnership of professional cycling, internationally with UCI and locally here in Australia with Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, which allows us to contribute resources in our network to make a positive difference within the community. Cycling represents resilience, specialisation and continued development. Mapei represents the same values when aligning business in Australia, offering high-quality products focusing on the planet and people”.

With the support of the Victorian State Government, the Great Ocean Road Race welcomed 140,000 spectators and cycling fans to the region over three days in 2024.