Following Cadel Evans’ 2011 Tour de France triumph and the emergence of Australia’s own GreenEDGE cycling team, the sport is in the midst of a boom. But will the buzz surrounding cycling last, or will it be fleeting?
In July last year, a sport that had long existed on the periphery of Australia’s sporting psyche was thrust onto the front page when an emotional Evans stood atop the podium on the Champs-Elysees.
It was by no means a light-switch moment; SBS’s exceptional coverage of the three-week event over the years has enabled an increasingly-knowledgeable class of cycling fans to emerge.
But Evans’ win also meant that the casual sports fan with not even a passing interest in cycling stopped and took notice. Indeed, even those who profess little interest in sport as a whole could recognise what an extraordinary achievement the victory was.
It’s not hard to garner respect when your pedalling up huge gradients and mountains that your car might conk out trying to get over. Mia Freedman tried to write Cadel off, and copped a storm of anger for her troubles.
Today the fourteenth edition of the Tour Down Under begins in earnest and with Australian cycling is still riding the wave of euphoria Evans’ win generated, it is hard to argue the sport has ever been in better shape in this country.
Young riders like Richie Porte, Cameron Meyer and Matt Goss all look to have promising futures in the sport and the founding of GreenEDGE should ensure continuing opportunities for young Australian riders.
So what happens next? Once the goodwill generated from Evans’ Tour victory subsides, will cycling still occupy a place in mainstream Australian sport or will it return to its niche?
One of the cliches that was rolled out en masse last July was how Cadel Evans would inspire an entire generation of fresh-faced, starry-eyed youngsters to take up the sport.
Only time will tell exactly how much truth there is in that statement, but professional cycling’s upswing in popularity certainly could not have come at a better time.
Throughout Australian cities more and more kms of bicycle lanes are being incorporated into urban environments, as planners strive for alternatives to the car as the primary mode of transport.
In 2011 the UCI named Melbourne as the world’s second ‘bike city’ behind Copenhagen after the city’s cycling infrastructure had gained international recognition, with Australia’s sporting capital set to host the Track Cycling World Championships later this year.
Integrating cycling into everyday lifestyles creates a new culture of cycling in our upcoming ‘entire generations’ and for professional cycling, the implication is that the sport becomes more accessible to a larger group of young Australians.
It is arguably just as important as the win of Evans last year.
Last week Roar Expert Adrian Musolino labelled cycling the new golf and while I see his point about the sport’s increasing popularity as entirely valid, I feel cycling has the potential to reach a far larger group of participants than golf, which remains accessible to a relatively small group of Australians.
The suggestion here isn’t that the sport will ever be in the same realm as AFL, football or cricket. But should Evans win spark an initial increase in participation and cultural change sustain that increase, elite programs such as GreenEDGE will have a far greater talent pool to work with and the ensuing success could result in a permanent spike in Australia’s interest of the sport.
Fancy a wager on your favourite sport? Head on over to PlayUp for great odds and friendly customer service and pick a winner. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Australia's Jai Hindley has said he is "lost for words" after a shock stage victory at the Tour de France earned him the leader's…
Australia's Jai Hindley has said he is "lost for words" after a shock stage victory at the Tour de France earned him the leader's…
Tadej Pogacar has won a drama-packed Tour of Flanders, winning in a breakaway with Matieu van der Poel second, Mads Pedersen third and Wout…
Women are not allowed to compete in the Tour de France. However you choose to re-read that sentence, the fact remains: the most famous…
The jam-packed month-by-month quiz full of 2022 sports trivia!
Australian Grace Brown has won silver in the women's time trial, the first event at the world road cycling championships.
