Celebrating its 60th edition, the Jayco Herald Sun Tour will pay tribute to some of its own rich and colourful history as well as that of cycling internationally when the opening road stage concludes with a Paris-Roubaix style finish on the outdoor velodrome in Bendigo next year.
As a result of the collaboration and support of the City of Greater Bendigo, riders will complete one and a half laps of the Tom Flood Sports Centre in the city centre, mirroring the finish of the Paris-Roubaix in what historians suggest will be the first velodrome stage finish of the ?Sun Tour? since 1957.
Run since 1896, the Paris-Roubaix is famous for its cobbled terrain followed by its famous finish on the smooth concrete of the outdoor velodrome in Roubaix.
Nicknamed the ?Hell of the North?, it is recognised as one of the five monuments of cycling and is one of the oldest and most prestigious one-day races on the international cycling calendar.
After an opening 4.7km individual time trial in Williamstown, the first road stage of the 2013 Jayco Herald Sun Tour will be raced from Sunbury to Bendigo.
Rolling out of the picturesque Rupertswood Mansion on Friday, 4 January, the peloton will face their first climbing challenge on Mount Macedon before making their way through Newham and Kyneton in the 148 kilometre journey to Bendigo.
They will be met by an eager crowd on the velodrome, many of whom will take advantage of a local competition to be held by Bendigo Cycling Club at the conclusion of Jayco Herald Sun Tour festivities.
The last memory of a ?Sun Tour? velodrome finish was the conclusion of the 1957 Tour at Brenock Park in Ferntree Gully which also held the final stage finish of the first ever edition in 1952.
The 1957 edition holds much significance in the events 60-year history as the only handicapped Tour.
Riders were handicapped in grades daily after each stage and going into the final day?s racing the ?B-grade riders? were given a 40second handicap advantage in addition to the time advantage of the leader Jack McDonough.
According to ?Sun Tour? stalwart George Nelson, Russell Mockridge and George Goodwin were amongst the ?A-graders? attempting the impossible to etch their name on the illustrious honour.
?Many thousands lined the roads through The Dandenongs and the A-graders just caught Jack McDonough a few miles before the rode onto the Brennock Park track,? Nelson recalled.
?There is no need to paint that scene.?
The stage was eventually won by Goodwin, but second place was enough to secure Mockridge the yellow jersey.
The Mockridge victory was just one of countless tales of a rich and colourful history of what is fondly known as the ?Sun Tour?.
For three-time winner and now race director John Trevorrow one of his most memorable finishes of the ?Sun Tour?, despite being somewhat for the wrong reasons, was the 1975 finish on the Calder race track.
?We rode onto the raceway as part of one of the regular drag meetings at Calder Park,? Trevorrow remembered.
?The stage finished with four laps of the track and every single time we raced down the front straight the 5000 strong crowd in the stands would boo us.
?We must have looked ridiculously slow and have taken what seemed like an eternity compared to what this lot were used to and they certainly didn?t wanted us interrupting their ?rev-head? entertainment.?
The crowd?s displeasure teamed with a ?laps to go? board that was flipped once the first rider had passed the finish rather than the last, saw great confusion with two laps to go.
Trevorrow, working towards his first ?Sun Tour? win, convinced his teammate Hilton Clarke that he needed to lead him out on the second last lap, which he delivered to perfection, only to receive the bell for the final lap.
Realising his error in judgement, Trevorrow powered on to come up with one of the more impressive stage wins in his ?Sun Tour? career, despite the obvious annoyance of Clarke who faded to the back of the peloton.
The Jayco Herald Sun Tour, will return for its 60th edition in January 2013 to complete Australia?s summer of cycling program.
The new look four-day Tour will be held from Thursday, 3 to Sunday, 6 January starting with an individual time trial in Williamstown, the Tour will take in regional centres Sunbury, Bendigo, Michelton Winery and Healesville, culminating with the highly popular Arthurs Seat climb on the Mornington Peninsula.
