Melbourne to Warrnambool Classic

Melbourne to Warrnambool
Riders in the 2007 race, near Werribee on the outskirts of Melbourne
General
Established	1895
Held	October
Country	Australia
Region	South West Victoria
Type	One day classic
Data
Editions	100
First Winner	A. Calder, AUS
Most Recent	Scott Sunderland, AUS
Most Wins	P.Besanko, D. Allan, 3 times
Record Time	5 hours and 12 minutes by Dean Woods in 1990 (267 km)

Riders in the 2007 race, near Werribee on the outskirts of Melbourne

The Melbourne to Warrnambool Classic cycling race is a one-day road bicycle race. The race started in 1895 and is Australia's oldest one day race and the world's second oldest one day race, after the Liège–Bastogne–Liège Classic. Historically until 1938 the race started in Warrnambool and finished 165 miles (266 km) later in Melbourne. In 1895 the race was run in the opposite direction, from Melbourne to Warrnambool and then again from 1939. The route started in central Melbourne and followed the Princes Highway to Warrnambool on Victoria's western coast. This traditional route was the longest race on the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) calendar, the exact distance varying slightly over time.

The race was a handicap event from 1895 to 1995, with riders leaving Melbourne at different intervals. From 1996 the race has been conducted as a Scratch Race with a mass start with up to 250 entrants, categorized into A, B, C, and D grades over a distance of 267 kilometres (166 mi). In 2004 it was changed to 299.1 kilometres (185.9 mi). In the towns on route there are now sprint points to be earned for a sprint champion competition. With six climbs during the day, a King of the Mountains championship is also at stake.

While the race usually attracts Australia's best locally based road cyclists (the increasing number of Australians racing for European-based professional teams have rarely entered in recent years), the race is also open to amateur club cyclists who race for the prizes in the secondary grades, or just to finish before the designated cutoff time.

In 2009 the race start was shifted to Werribee, on Melbourne's outer south-western outskirts, and the race distance shortened to 258 kilometres (160 mi). Several additional hills were added to the route near Camperdown. The primary difficulty of the race remains its length and the strong crosswinds which affect the course.

In 1895 Don Charlston conceived the first race after riding from Warrnambool to Melbourne in a personal time trial. The first race was held on 5 October 1895 and won by A. Calder in 11 hours 44 minutes, with a 2 hours handicap start for the 165-mile trip. He suffered a puncture near Geelong which lost him 20 minutes, but crossed the line with a lead of 31 minutes. The fastest time during this first race was recorded by Jim Carpenter from scratch who took 10 hours 52 minutes and finished in 4th place. Of the 50 riders that entered, 24 started and only 7 finished the race. A second race occurred ten weeks later over the same distance.

...
Wikipedia