Call to be made on road nationals’ move out west
Roger Vaughan |
Perth has posed some searching questions for what AusCycling does with their road championships beyond next year.
The sport made a big call two years ago by leaving Buninyong near Ballarat after two decades and giving the road nationals a rare foray out west.
That three-year deal with the WA government will end next year and over the next six months AusCycling will start considering what it does next.
Perth has been an undoubted success – the criterium course at suburban Northbridge attracts massive crowds and the road race circuit that takes in Kings Park and the CBD is stunning.
The elite road races have been compelling, capped by Jayco AlUla’s much-criticised tactics that cost them the win last Sunday in the men’s event.
But AusCycling chief executive Marne Fechner said there’s plenty of interest in hosting what she calls a jewel in the crown for the sport.
The tyranny of distance and the politics of eastern-state biases will also no doubt play into what happens beyond 2027.
“The concept of moving around … we come here (to Perth), we learn from an event perspective, we build something,” Fechner told AAP.
“WA have been an extraordinary partner for us and let us lift the event to new heights.
“I’m very upbeat about this partnership, but it’s also about how we position this event as being sought-after – it’s a jewel in the crown for cycling.
“The reality is, we do have some great interest (in hosting the road nationals).”
Perth has a strong cycling culture and the Midvale SpeedDome will also host the March 6-8 round of track’s World Cup series.
Buninyong and Ballarat had hosted the road nationals since 2002, except for a two-year stint in the Adelaide Hills, and Fechner said the new venue had proved “extraordinary”.
“It’s where the event really grew up – it found itself, it built. (But) sometimes it’s good to refresh and evolve,” she said of the Buninyong circuit.
“We knew the WA Government and City Of Perth were really keen to utilitise an amazing capital city.
“We’re excited … everything operates well here.”
One near-certainty is that the nationals will be held on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast at some point before the 2032 Olympics.
The Alexandra Headland will be the venue for the Games road cycling events.
AAP
