Bernie Ripoll (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Go Cadel—allez, allez! I want to pay tribute to and congratulate Cadel Evans on winning the greatest bike race in the world, the Tour de France. It is the most difficult and complex physical endurance race anywhere in the world and by any measure a truly heroic and great sporting achievement. What Cadel Evans has achieved ranks alongside any other great sporting champion in Australia—or, for that matter, the world. Cadel, of course, is the first Australian to win the Tour de France and also the oldest person as a first-time winner ever at age 34, which is an incredible feat in itself.

In the history of the tour there have only been riders from 10 other nations that have ever won and that places Australia very high on that list of cycling achievement. The Tour de France is undoubtedly the most well known and most widely followed cycling event in the world, and this year was undoubtedly the best ever followed by Australian audiences. It is much larger than the world of cycling as an event—it is one of the world's most prestigious sporting events—with a long and difficult road not just in terms of the tour itself but for the journey for those who embark on the race.

Cadel's efforts in winning the tour cannot be overstated by any measure. In terms of remarkable sporting victories by Australians some commentators are ranking it alongside Cathy Freeman's gold medal at the Sydney Olympics and Kieren Perkins's famous swimming wins. Some have even likened Cadel to the great Don Bradman. Cadel Evans may be a humble man and a little embarrassed I think by all the attention, but in our view he is a great sporting hero—somebody who has achieved greatness through sheer hard work and gritty determination in true Australian spirit.

I know—and I suspect that Cadel understands, or I hope he understands—that he shares this victory with all Australians, not just cycling fans but with all Australians. What amazed me this year were the phone calls, the emails and comments from people who had never followed a cycling race in their life, but they just understood how important this was.

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