SBS will broadcast the Melbourne to Warrnambool live from 11:30am AEDT on SBS On Demand on Saturday, with the Women’s Warrnambool Cycling Classic live from 10:30am AEDT on Sunday, also on SBS On Demand.
On the start line at Avalon Airport will be the usual assortment of National Road Series elite athletes, club riders looking to set themselves a challenge… and a four-time Tour de France champion.
Chris Froome is set to ride the 107th edition of the Melbourne to Warrnambool, Australia’s oldest and longest race, and he will become the first Tour de France champion to grace the startlist since the race started back in 1895. Organisers secured his late entry overnight in conjunction with the UCI and his WorldTour team, Israel Premier-Tech, and fans will see the superstar line up against the cream of the elite domestic crop.
“It’s going to be an epic day out on the bike, it’s a historic event, one of the oldest around actually and one of the longest,” said Froome in the announcement. “Part of my reason to be out in Australia is to get a big workload in before I head back to Europe for the racing season and take advantage of the good weather out here.
“It was a great opportunity for me to add this race in and get some more racing in the legs.”
Froome's inclusion will see Victoria's Summer of Cycling finish with a global crescendo as nearly 200 male and female riders will line up for their tilt at one of the sport’s oldest and grandest titles.
Though greats of Australian cycling like Hubert Oppermann, I.R. ‘Snowy’ Munro, Russell Mockridge and Simon Gerrans would ride and win the race or take best time in the handicap editions, there hasn’t been the same international glamour of stars from overseas competing.
Recent entrants Koen de Kort (Netherlands, 11th in 2017) and Ben Perry (Canada, 4th in 2020) put in good displays on the men’s side, while Megan Armitage (Ireland, 4th in 2022) in the inaugural women’s race was a surprise packet in her debut.
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You have to go back to Sam Horgan (New Zealand) in 2013 to find an overseas winner, though Floris Goesinnen (Netherlands) in 2012 and Jonas Ljungblad in 2005 are also examples.
Froome will join fellow WorldTour rider Lachlan Morton as the two sole professionals in the race, with a host of hungry local riders keen to show their abilities against the ‘pros’.
SBS will broadcast the Melbourne to Warrnambool live from 11:30am AEDT on SBS On Demand on Saturday, with the Women’s Warrnambool Cycling Classic live from 10:30am AEDT on Sunday, also on SBS On Demand.
