This is the opinion of the race’s highly-experienced chief commissaire Peter Tomlinson who believes the five-day jewel in the National Road Series crown deserves a higher profile.

“This race is the grand final of the NRS and I would love to see it take a step up,” he said.

“It deserves to have UCI status in order to have the likes of Richie Porte taking part. Then its coverage would just take off.”

A veteran of a dozen world championships on road and track, the last five Commonwealth Games plus the 2000 Olympic Games and Tour Down Under, Tomlinson has been a commissaire for 25 years, 18 of them internationally.

Having taken charge of the Tour of Tasmania for a fifth time last week, he said giving the race 2.1 status with the UCI would allow WorldTour riders to take part.

“There would be a lot to attract them. The potential is huge,” Tomlinson said.

“That’s why Asian countries invest so much in tours because they see them as an opportunity to promote their country and the same potential for that is here.

“Basically it is down to investment.”

Tour of Tasmania race director John Trevorrow said organisers would love to see the event elevated to the same level as the Herald Sun Tour and had discussed the idea.

“It is something we are looking at,” he said.

“I think it’s a wonderful event, the best in the NRS, and want it to be the best it can be, but am not 100 per cent sure whether that is becoming a 2.1 event. It’s a question of how it would fit into the calendar because there are just no gaps so I don’t know if we could make it work.”

Trevorrow said dates are limited with each new year beginning with the Bay Crits in Melbourne, road national championships in Ballarat, Tour Down Under in Adelaide, Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race and Herald Sun Tour. The only option would be moving the Tassie tour to February when WorldTour riders traditionally are heading back to their European bases.

Stepping up to UCI status would also require up to $1 million additional funding and would exclude some riders from taking part.

Tomlinson said the tour’s queen stage, from Ulverstone to Riana via Gunns Plains on Saturday, was without parallel in his experience.

“This compares favourably to anything,” said the 57-year-old from Mittagong in New South Wales.

“I’ve done races across Indonesia, China, Australia and New Zealand this year and find this area as scenic as any of them and that makes for classic racing.”

He heaped praise on a race which has a history of unearthing future stars including 2008 champion Porte, Cadel Evans (1999) and Cameron Meyer (2007).

“As a commissaire it’s a pleasure when an event is pieced together so well. There are many parts to make it work.

“It’s a unique event because no other sport puts its field of play so far out.”