Most have been waxing lyrical, suggesting it is the greatest field ever seen in the race, or any race of it’s kind in Australia. Perhaps.
I would have to go back through the records since the amateur and professional associations combined in 1992 and the editions of the championship held since then to come to a definite answer but one would suggest the mere presence of a Tour de France champion would be enough to make it the classiest event ever.
And of course, the internationals didn’t disappoint with Simon Gerrans taking the win in a sprint finish from Cadel Evans and Richie Porte with Cam Meyer bringing up the rear in the four man sprint.
Gerrans is an interesting character. A fellow who has gotten the most out of his ability and scored some impressive victories here and overseas. A rider who aims for an event within his capabilities and often succeeds. I have read recently that his nickname among some of his contemporaries is “The Cycling Sniper” He aims and he hits! He is an impressive athlete.
With the advent of the Orica-Greenedge team, Australia’s very own World Tour outfit, Gerrans has built a high profile to the point where some have rated him Australia’s best cyclist! Hmmm. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves!
The debate about the “greatest” in any sport can be divisive but we are lucky in the world of cycling that one man stands head and shoulders above all others. Eddy Merckx, the great Belgian is still today regarded as the best racing cyclist who has ever lived. There is no argument.
Five Tour de France victories. Five Tour of Italy wins. Three World Road Championships and just about every other major event at least once plus a string of victories in six day track events has long put to bed any rancour over who is the ultimate champion of the sport.
But who is Australia’s greatest cyclist?
It is a subject which is of course subjective with personal favourites being put forward at various times and old bias coming into play when discussing less popular champions and it is a particularly interesting topic today with Gerrans winning the national title and reinforcing his popular image as a great champion.
There is also a problem when recalling the names of the distant past whom contemporary fans never saw in action and of course cycling, like most endeavours has changed much in the years since the Second World War. Who knows if the wheeled warriors of yesteryear would stand up to the rigours of the modern sport and maintain their legendary status?
Is Simon Gerrans Australia’s best cyclist? I don’t think so, despite his impressive efforts over the years. So, who would I have on my list?
I have not worked it out definitively in my own head and I maintain the right to chop and change at any time in the future, but I have my personal favourites. Those I have seen in action and those I have only heard and read about but have been told on good authority that these particular fellows were the best of the best.
So I will take a punt. Here we go.
1. Cadel Evans: Can there be any doubt that Cadel Evans is the pre-eminent Australian cyclist in the history of the sport? Our first ever Tour de France champion. Our first ever World Professional Road Champion (with apologies to Jack Hoobin, World Amateur Road Champion in 1950). Winner of classic one day races and collector of multiple top ten finishes in the three major grand tours. And that is before we talk about his stellar career as one of the world’s best mountain bikers! Australia’s greatest ever cyclist and still our best. (Sorry Gerro!). And he ain’t finished yet!
2. Now it gets sticky. And divisive. But I will throw a name into the ring and defy anyone to shoot me down. Phil Anderson. The first Australian to win a stage in the Tour de France. The first Australian to lead the Tour de France. The first Australian to finish in the top ten of the Tour de France, a feat he achieved on multiple occasions. The winner of two one day classics, the first Australian to achieve this feat.
Take his career and lay it alongside the best of rest after Cadel Evans and the rest don’t come close. Often forgotten by the new breed who don’t realise Australian cycling existed before Greenedge came along. He deserves his spot at number two.
3. Russell Mockridge. The tragic legend of Australian cycling. If you haven’t heard of him, hang your head in shame. There has never been a better all-round cyclist from this country. From a sprint derby to a 150 mile classic, he could do it all. Introverted, tortured, freakish, short-sighted. The image of him barrelling into the bends at North Essendon board track, squinting through his thick rimmed glasses is a memory that still excites those who were lucky enough to see him in the flesh. He died under the wheels of a commuter bus at the intersection of Clayton and Dandenong roads during the Tour of Gippsland in 1958, long before I was born. But the old timers who remember him only ever mention his name in hushed and reverent tones. Mocka deserves his place at number 3.
4. Sid Patterson. Along with his contemporary and great rival, Mockridge, this was the bloke I heard the most about when I was growing up. A four time world champion, he won the amateur sprint in 1949 and backed it up by wining the amateur pursuit the next year! A feat unheard of in the history of cycling. I would like to see some of the current “greats” try to emulate that. Backed it up with two more world professional pursuit titles and six day wins in Europe, notably at Paris, partnered with Mockridge and Arnold. An unmatched record of victory followed in Australia when track cycling still meant something in this country. The greatest track handicap rider of all and a personality as big as his legend. Patto is a shoe-in at number four.
5. Danny Clark. This is one guy I did see in action. He was past his best but was still a cut above the locals. A five time world champion on the track and winner of 60 or so six day races on the boards, he was once rated by Italian cycling journalists as one of the five best cyclists in history. He also had a number one hit on the singles charts in Belgium. Fact is sometime stranger than fiction!
6. Robbie McEwan. Three wins in the Tour de France points classification speaks for itself not to mention multiple stage wins in the three grand tours and scores of other victories in lesser races. A personality and a champion who deserves his high ranking on my list.
7. I’m going to throw Stuart O’Grady in here. I know he has blotted his copybook recently but anyone who knows anything about professional cycling knows he is not Robinson Crusoe when it comes to doping and he is a nice guy so I will keep him where I think he deserves to be.
Multiple stage winner in the Tour de France and also lead the race on a couple of occasions and was really unlucky not to win the points competition one year. An Olympic Champion in the madison, a victory I would rate highly on anyone’s palmares and of course a win in the greatest one day classic of all, Paris to Roubaix. Stuey has been a great all-round champion. Certainly a member of Australia’s elite.
8. I think I am going to put Simon Gerrans in here. I wonder how many will agree with me? Not the most talented guy in Australia’s cycling history but as I said before, got more out of his ability than anyone and has a record to be proud of. He has lead the Tour de France and won stages in all three grand tours including a mountain stage in La Grand Boucle after a long breakaway. Picks his targets and takes his chance, particularly in the early season in Australia when his competitors may not quite have the same form or fitness as he. An impressive win in the greatest Italian one day classic, Milan to San Remo a couple of years ago really put the icing on the cake of his career. He could retire now having done more than most.
And that is where I am going to leave it. Things get murky from here and there are several guys who could fill the last two spots in my top ten. Does anyone else have an idea on who those riders should be? Oppy? Mick Rogers? One of our domestics champs, “Bulldog Besanko or “Dumps” Allan? There are several more who could join the star studded bunch on my list.
If you disagree with me or have any ideas on who should be numbers nine and ten, don’t hesitate to let me know. But remember it is only one man’s opinion. And a bit of fun.
Have a nice night.
Strange Notations From a Laborious Life 