Road Cycling
Introduction
Australia has a long tradition and proud history in road cycling and our road cyclists now feature on the roster of some of the best professional teams in the world. Dozens of Australian men and women have earned key positions in the world's biggest teams but all of them began their careers racing in domestic calendar events. Almost every weekend somewhere in Australia cyclists are lining up to race and whether they are a 'weekend warrior', or an elite competitor dreaming of an international career there are club events and national calendar races for them to contest.
Find out more information on road cycling in Australia by selecting your area of interest below.
National Road Series Information
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Events and Results
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Cycling Australia High Performance Program
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Oceania UCI Continental Circuit
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History
In 1914 Don Kirkham became the first Australian to saddle up for the Tour de France and finished 17th. Others followed and 14 years later Sir Hubert Opperman led a team of Australians (and one Kiwi) to contest the 1928 Tour de France. 'Oppy' finished 18th and placed third on one of the stages. Over the years more Australians made the journey to race in Europe but it wasn't until 1981 that an Australian wore the leader's yellow jersey in the world's most famous bike race. Phil Anderson, or 'Skippy' as he was known in Europe would go on to win the best young rider classification and finish tenth overall. Anderson was one of a group of Australians forging a career of foreign shores in a sport that 'football and cricket mad' Australians knew little about.
But in the almost three decades since Anderson pulled on the 'maillot jaune' Australia has produced some of the best cyclists in the world.
Queensland sprint star Robbbie McEwen has won the green jersey points classification of the Tour de France in 2002, 2004 and 2006 while Baden Cooke won the jersey in 2003. In 2007 Cadel Evans became the first Australian to finish the Tour de France on the podium with his second place in overall. He repeated the feat in 2008. Stuart O'Grady scored a landmark victory in the 2007 Paris-Roubaix, the historic one day classic colloquially known as the 'Hell of the North'. In 2008 Simon Gerrans became the first Australian to win a mountain stage of the Tour de France.
At World Championship level, McEwen collected a silver medal in the road race at the 2002 World Championships in Belgium. In 2009, in Mendrisio (Switzerland), Cadel Evans went one better and became the first Australian Mens World Road Champion. Michael Rogers has three times won the rainbow jersey in the men's time trial (2003, 2004 and 2005) - the most of any cyclist for that event.
In Commonwealth Games road cycling, Victorian Hector Sutherland won Australia's first gold medal in the road race in 1950 . Australia's men have since claimed five gold medals in the road race , won the team time trial in 1994 and twice won the individual time trial. In addition Australia's men have collected seven silver and seven bronze medals on the road.
Australia’s female cyclists have contributed greatly to our nation’s cycling success. Australian women have raced at six Olympic Games on the road and have twice claimed gold in the road race. The first Olympic Games road cycling gold medal was won by Kathy Watt in Barcelona (1992) and in 2004 in Athens Sara Carrigan again claimed the honour for Australia. Watt was the first Australian to win a medal at the Road Cycling World Championships with her third place in the time trial in 2005 in Colombia.
In the five Commonwealth Games that have been contested by Australia’s female road cyclists they have claimed seven gold, three silver and three bronze medals across the road race and time trial events.
An Australian has been crowned UCI Women’s Road World Cup Series Champion four times (Anna Wilson twice and Oenone Wood twice) since the series began in 1999.
From an AIS mens road cycling program and a number of State Institute programs which commenced operating in the early 1990's, Australia has steadily climbed up the world rankings in both mens and womens categories across the age divisions and is now considered a powerhouse in world cycling.
