Check it out!

http://www.bicyclingaustralia.com.au/news/wollongong-to-host-2022-uci-world-championships#KEg83CYtLmoKXd42.99

You can read more here:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/rohan-dennis-world-title-four-years-in-the-making/

The stage finishes with the iconic Alpe d’Huez which will certainly be a memorable climb with thousands of fans expected to turn up.

We have great respect for our Australian rider and hope BMC can still have a great rest of tour.

You can find out more here: http://www.sportingnews.com/au/cycling/news/richie-porte-crash-tour-de-france-2018-stage-9/1e3f50xhhgzgn1om24cupskm1z

Fifth place in the Master’s category last year he is pumped up and ready for a return visit to learn from the experience of last year, enjoy the glorious sunshine and once again tackle the challenging roads of the spectacular Sunshine Coast hinterland.

“Velothon Sunshine Coast was a terrific event last year because having a three day road course event in Australia is absolutely unique and add to that the sunshine, the organization, the atmosphere and the volunteers and community involvement, made it a European style professional experience. To get that in sunshine in July, in Australia, is unique.”

“Last year was one of the best events I have been to for atmosphere and the fact it is multi-day. In Sydney and Melbourne and other places you cannot get that multi-day event experience on beautiful roads because the built environment is so busy. Other events are one day and you go along and don’t have the chance to build relationships and back and follow up the next day.”

“Some of us are using it as preparation for the World Championships in Varese. It is wonderful to ride in the heat and in difficult terrain.  Others are taking part as a wonderful opportunity to get out riding. Rather than having your bike in the garage for three months over winter you can actually get out and ride and race.”

“I thought the course choice was very good. It was more than challenging than I imagined. There were more challenging hills, longer hills but it was very rewarding coming back to the race clubhouse at the end of the day.”

“The locals got really involved and you felt that they were sharing your experience and the atmosphere was absolutely wonderful. There were no exceptions and it didn’t have one bad moment with riders, officials, or volunteers, it was really terrific.” Jon said.

With the experience and knowledge of last year Jon is approaching the event slightly differently and has some advice for those tackling Velothon Sunshine Coast for the first time.

“My advice to myself for year two is to go and enjoy it. Just by riding it you will love it. But if you want to be competitive and compete for one of the many different jerseys and prizes then it is no walk in the park. You need to be fit, you need to strong, light and you need to have done lots of hill climbing and training. I would also recommend a semi compact the 52-36 or a full compact 50-34 and having a 30 on the back.”

“I normally race a 53-39 and 11-23 and I tried to go up Obi Obi with my 25 and almost didn’t make it. I was zig zagging my way up that climb. So I will certainly go with an easier gear this year to get over the hills better. That is my learning.”

“As Ambassador of the event, once again my goal is for everyone to have a great time but personally I would love to compete for the master’s jersey. I was fifth last year, so this year I will bid for that,” he said.

As part of the Blackchrome Peloton Event team mixed team, Jon will is using Velothon Sunshine Coast to put the finishing touches on his preparation for the World Amateur Road and Time Trial Championships in Varese Italy in August and then the annual Peloton Events Ultimate Charity Challenge 11-18 November, riding from Melbourne via Snowy Mountains to Sydney over every climb and high pass they can find.

“We are looking for eight strong riders up for the challenge of riding 1350km in eight days with 16,000m of climbing as a rolling pro peloton experience. We have support vehicles, nutrition on the ride just like a Tour de France experience. The charities we are riding for are Movember, for men’s health and Orange Sky Australia for the homeless and Bicycle NSW Environmental trust the advocates for a better environment for cyclists,” he said.  More information is available at the Blackchrome Cycling tent or online www.pelothonevents.info

To find out more about the Velothon Sunshine Coast course, download the 3 Day Velo Overview Course Map

Velothon Sunshine Coast is supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland as part of the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar. Queensland, just the place to experience Australia’s best live events.

For further information visit https://velothonsunshinecoast.com.au/

About IRONMAN

A Wanda Sports Holdings company, IRONMAN operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN^® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN^® 70.3^® Triathlon Series, 5150 Triathlon Series, the Rock n’ Roll Marathon Series^®, Iron Girl^®, IRONKIDS^®, International Triathlon Union World Triathlon Series races, road cycling events including the UCI Velothon Majors Series, mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic, premier marathons including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon and other multisport races. IRONMAN’s events, together with all other Wanda Sports Holdings events, provide more than a million participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. The iconic IRONMAN ^® Series of events is the largest participation sports platform in the world. Since the inception of the IRONMAN^® brand in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE^® by crossing finish lines at the world’s most challenging endurance races. Beginning as a single race, IRONMAN has grown to become a global sensation with more than 200 events across 50 countries. For more information, visit www.ironman.com.

About Wanda Sports Holding

Wanda Sports Holding is the world’s leading sports business entity, founded to capture the opportunities in the global sports industry and to contribute to the prosperous international sports landscape – in three key areas: 1) Spectator Sports (media and marketing business), 2) Participation Sports (active lifestyle business), 3) Services (digital, production and service business). Led by President and CEO Philippe Blatter, Wanda Sports Holding incorporates the international sports marketing company Infront Sports and Media, the iconic endurance brand IRONMAN, and Wanda Sports China. The headquarters are in Guangzhou, China.

Jack Bauer (NZL, 33) – 5th TDF appearance
Luke Durbridge (AUS, 27) – 5th TDF appearance
Mathew Hayman (AUS, 40) – 4th TDF appearance
Michael Hepburn (AUS, 26) – debut
Damien Howson (AUS, 25) – 2nd TDF appearance
Daryl Impey (RSA, 33) – 6th TDF appearance
Mikel Nieve (SPA, 34) – 5th TDF appearance
Adam Yates (GBR, 25) – 3rd TDF appearance

Big news was the fact that Caleb Ewan has been left out of the team, who took to twitter to voice his disappointment;

“Devastated is an understatement of how I feel about @MitcheltonSCOTT’s decision to leave me at home this July. I was on track to being more than ready for my TDF debut. So much hard work has gone into this from my sprint team and I to be ready for our big goal this year.” – @CalebEwan

More information about team selection can be found out here: https://www.greenedgecycling.com/news/mitchelton-scott-names-versatile-team-to-support-adam-yates-and-dreams-of-tour-de-france-podium

What do you think of this selection? Do you think the Aussie team can this year take the win?

The Spring Cycle is taking place on the 14th of October and is a fantastic opportunity for riders of all abilities to ride all throughout Sydney. There are four different ride options on the day, the: 10km, 18km, 50km and 110km rides – meaning there is one to suit everyone!

Early bird discounts are now available, with a further discount available for Bicycle NSW members. Further details about the ride can be found here: http://springcycle.com.au/about/

It should be another fantastic day and we look forward to seeing everyone out on the road!