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IN SPRINTERS Robbie McEwen, Matt Goss and Caleb Ewan, the Launceston Classic honour roll reads like a past, present and future of Australian cycling.
And in the dozen years since it began, the popular annual criterium has indeed lured the cream of both Tasmanian and Australian cycling talent.
Stuart O’Grady, Cadel Evans, Baden Cooke, Simon Gerrans, Mark Renshaw, Brad McGee, Michael Rogers, Matthew Lloyd and Graeme Brown have all travelled down to the event where ProTour riders Goss, Richie Porte, Will Clarke, Cameron Wurf and Wes Sulzberger have flown the home state flag.
However, having firmly established itself on the cycling calendar, the event is set to hit unprecedented heights this year with the recruitment of 2013 Tour de France champion Chris Froome.
Described by his Sky teammate and close friend Porte as ‘‘the Tour rider of our generation’’, the Kenyan-born Brit is indeed widely considered to be the benchmark performer in the ProTour peloton.
Froome’s involvement has catapulted the Classic into the international spotlight, especially since broadcast deals were signed to televise the race live across Australia on SBS and even into Europe on satellite.
‘‘The interest is huge and that’s great for Tassie,’’ Porte said, whose honours include leading the 2010 Giro d’Italia and winning last year’s Paris-Nice.
‘‘I hope people come out to watch Froomey. To see a guy riding around Launceston who could end up winning three or four Tour de Frances, that’s just massive.
‘‘To have Launceston showcased to a live audience which could be millions, the organisers have done a fantastic job.
‘‘I think Stan would be rapt with the way his race is being run and we can really showcase Launceston as the cycling mecca it is.’’
The involvement of the two 29-year-olds who have spearheaded Team Sky’s last three Tour de France campaigns should also mark the latest chapter in an event that already boasts more than its fair share of memories.
Since Hilton Clarke and McEwen sprinted to the first two titles outside the Grand Chancellor and young upstart Goss upstaged a shell-shocked O’Grady in Cimitiere Street, the race has never failed to keep spectators enthralled.
During a career that went on to include Grand Tour stage wins and the 2011 Milan-San Remo and a silver medal at the 2010 road world championships, Goss has enjoyed a lucrative home-town hat-trick with Tasmanian wins also delivered by the power of Will Clarke in 2009 and the guile of Luke Ockerby in a rain-soaked 2011 event.
When Caleb Ewan exploded from the pack to claim last year’s crown outside City Hall, it cemented the race’s reputation for luring Australia’s brightest young road cycling prospects.
The talented Sydneysider was already a junior world champion in the omnium, has since had Australia’s Commonwealth Games road race team built around him and was last month named Australia’s under-23 cyclist of the year.
On the back of Froome’s confirmation, this year’s Classic has again lured a rich crop of elite riders.
Garmin’s 26-year-old Victorian Steele Von Hoff is the reigning national criterium champion, Nathan Earle will join Froome and Porte in a powerful Team Sky representation while fellow Hobartian Wurf returns after another tough season representing Cannondale on the ProTour.
Campbell Flakemore, also of Hobart, will make one of his final appearances for the Tasmanian-based Avanti team before joining the BMC team that took Evans to the 2011 Tour de France crown.
Previous home-state winners Goss and Clarke are back along with the Sulzberger brothers, with Wes keen to shake off his bridesmaid tag having finished second to his Tasmanian mates in 2007 and 2009.
Whether either Ewan can retain his crown or Froome gets his hands on the $4000 winner’s cheque remains to be seen, but their mere involvement suggests the Sky’s the limit for the future of the race.
WHAT: Stan Siejka Launceston Cycling Classic.
WHEN: Sunday, December 7.
WHERE: Criterium around St John, York, George and Cameron streets, anticlockwise.
PROGRAM:
1pm Under-15s (20 mins + 2 laps) 1st $100, 2nd $75, 3rd $50.
1.30pm Under-17s (25 mins + 2 laps) 1st $100, 2nd $75, 3rd $50.
2.10pm Masters (40 mins + 2 laps) 1st $150, 2nd $75, 3rd $50.
3.20pm Elite women (45 mins + 2 laps) 1st $2000, 2nd $1000, 3rd $600, 4th $400.
4.35pm Elite men (70 mins + 2 laps) 1st $4000, 2nd $1500, 3rd $750, 4th $400, 5th $200, 6th $150, 7th $100.
HOW MUCH: Free.
PREVIOUS WINNERS
2002: Hilton Clarke
2003: Robbie McEwen
2004: Matt Goss
2007: Matt Goss
2008: Hilton Clarke
2009: Will Clarke
2010: Matt Goss
2011: Luke Ockerby
2012: Neil Van Der Ploeg
2013: Caleb Ewan