When the route for the Jayco-Herald Sun Tour is released each year I do two things. Firstly, I check to see if Australia’s oldest stage race is passing through my home town of Ballarat.
Secondly, I see if it takes on the notorious hair-pinned climb of Arthur’s Seat.
Sadly this time around the race bypasses Ballarat, but it does climb Arthur’s Seat. It climbs it three times in fact, just as it did in 2011.
That year a wide eyed Nathan Haas battled WorldTour rider Jack Bobridge and took out the overall in the best edition of the race in recent memory.
It was also the first time I reported on a stage race from start to finish, so I may be biased.
Having said that, I have always had a soft spot for Australia’s premier stage race. Yes, I know, there is that other race across the border that has grown legs in recent times and been awarded WorldTour status, but I still like to think of the Victorian race as Australia’s greatest.
I justify this with my belief that the Tour Down Under now belongs to the world so it doesn’t count, while the Jayco-Herald Sun Tour remains a purely Australian institution.
It is also a survivor.
Despite an awkward October timeslot, the race gained enormous momentum during that 2011 edition. It was UCI ranked and a number of pro-teams attended. Garmin-Cevelo, Saxo Bank-Sungard, Omega Pharma-Lotto, Katusha and Skil-Shimano sent squads, as well as the then barely heard of MTN Qhubeka.
They battled against the best of our domestic teams, with the locals more often than not upstaging their highly fancied rivals.
Nathan Haas earned his first pro-contract off the back of his performance and Steele Von Hoff featured prominently in the sprints, even after being run off the road a couple of times by an angry Russian rider from Katusha. He would also go on to earn a pro-contract.
And of the internationals, a young German with a handy turn of pace and an outstanding hairdo showed why he was one of the hottest items emerging on the pro-scene, claiming the 16th and 17th wins of his neo-pro season. Of course Marcel Kittel is now a multiple Grand Tour stage winner.
It was a glorious race.
Just one year later though, the whole thing had stalled.
The world road racing championships came to Geelong in 2012, stealing the Tour’s timeslot. As a result it was postponed.
By 2013 it had lost its UCI ranking and had been shunted to January, becoming a watered down version in the process. Jammed between the popular Bay Classic criteriums and the nationals, the Tour appeared to be a problem child without a proper home. With no disrespect to those who took part, it was a sad demise. Anticipation was hard to muster for the once prestigious event.
Many thought the end of the road was near for the historic race. But the Jayco-Herald Sun Tour is a resilient beast.
A move to February and a reinstated UCI ranking for 2014 had the race rolling at high cadence once again. Despite the disappointment of its finale on Arthur’s Seat being cancelled due to extreme weather, the race was well supported by riders and spectators and seemed to have found its place once again on the Australian cycling calendar.
More importantly, it will be allowed to stabilise there in 2015, with its immediate future being guaranteed by a three-year funding commitment by the Victorian government, which has also been matched by Gerry Ryan’s Jayco company.
And the race won’t let them down.
An evening prologue in the heart of Melbourne will open the event while the triple ascent of Arthur’s Seat will be its finale. Both of these days will attract Tour Down Under type crowds, and the middle stages which take in Mt Macedon, the Bendigo gold fields and Nagambie will also be well supported.
Orica-GreenEDGE have already confirmed their participation, as they should, with last year’s winner Simon Clarke and all-time Aussie great Simon Gerrans both expected to be part of the team.
Gerrans has been fantastic for cycling in Australia, both at home and overseas. Rather than seeing the Aussie summer season as an obligation, he uses it to not only hone his form and hit the European season flying, but to recognise his own humble beginnings and to repay his growing army of fans for their support.
“It’s a fantastic way of setting up my European season, to start the year in good shape off the back of some great racing in Australia,” Gerrans said after the Tour route was announced.
“This is where I came from and this is where it all started for me. I think it’s important to give back to these races and give these young kids and cycling fans that watch us every year on the television the opportunity to see us in the flesh and see what we do.”
It is cyclists like Gerrans who will ensure that races such as the Jayco-Herald Sun Tour continue. While it does rely heavily on domestic teams and local riders, the influx of stars not only increase the interest among spectators, but raises the bar for the local squads.
It gives young riders a chance to ride with and learn from some of the best. It also allows them to test their legs against the seasoned pros, a thrilling prospect for even the most conservative of up and comers.
It is the one aspect that the Tour Down Under no longer possesses – the flexibility to mix WorldTour teams with smaller domestic squads. And in a way, that adds to the intrigue of the Victorian race. It introduces the underdog factor, and we all love an underdog.
It is just one of the race’s little quirks that set it aside from its more glitzy cousin in South Australia and it complements the other races of the summer season nicely. In fact each of them contributes something different to the cycling landscape.
The Bay Classic offers fast and furious criterium racing. The nationals offer personal glory to its participants across all of the road disciplines. The Tour Down Under brings big-time stage racing to our shores and the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road race will bring us a world-class one-day event.
But it is fitting that Australia’s oldest stage race, the Jayco-Herald Sun Tour brings the summer of cycling to a close. It offers us an alluring mix of tradition and opportunity, of history and survival. It exists as it always has, on the enthusiastic support of its fans, riders and organisers.
Once again it has found its place. Long may it continue.
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