Photo credit @gettysport
The UCI Road World Championships successfully kicked off Australia’s green and gold decade.
The event, held in Wollongong delivered an action packed 8 days of world-class racing full of excitement and entertainment.
Over 200,000 spectators descended on the coastal town to enjoy the city-wide festival of cycling first-hand. Australia watched its home-town heroes produce some amazing results, collecting four medals on home soil.
Highlights include:
Grace Brown producing the best result by an Australian in the Elite Women’s Time Trial since 1999 taking out the silver medal
Hamish McKenzie taking out silver for Australia in the Junior Men’s time Trial
Michael Matthews taking out Bronze for Australia in the Elite Men’s Road Race
Australia taking the bronze medal in Team time trial mixed relay. It was only the third time the relay was held.
In a huge promotion for gender equality in cycling, the event also marked the first time the U23 women were recognised with the rainbow jersey, medals and World Champion status all awarded for the first time.
The official kick off for the green and gold decade also produced some unexpected highlights. Riders got a surprise introduction to Australia’s native wildlife up close. The magpie a well-known Australian bird, swooped several world championship cyclists during training. The local seagulls also got involved, crashing into the Dutch team during the Mixed relay race.
The positive reaction and results of the event have built on legacy initiatives which have already proven to be a success.
The Community Ride which kicked which off the event, saw people of all ages and abilities get involved. Cyclists took the opportunity to ride on the championship circuit and over the finish line. Ride Nation a bike education program for school children is making inroads in getting more kids on bikes.
Wollongong has set the scene for Australia’s exciting upcoming Green and Gold decade of sporting events.
