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

Yes, a bit like the America's Cup—exactly. This is something truly great for Australia, great for Cadel and great for cycling. Cadel's victory is a victory for every Australian and particularly every Australian rider who has ever travelled to Europe to create a future at the top of the cycling tree to eventually have one day an Australian winner—people like Phil Anderson, Stuart O'Grady, Neil Stephens, Bradley McGee, Robbie McEwen, Baden Cooke and Simon Gerrans just to name a few great Australian riders. Another great Tour de France rider to make a huge contribution was Stephen Hodge, who is based here in Canberra and is a great friend to so many people here. All of these riders had the belief that a small country so far away from the focus of elite cycling in Europe could one day win this very difficult and great event, and after so many years, so much hard work, we can all be rewarded by the win of Cadel.

The Tour de France commenced in 1903. It has a great history and a great tradition but it was only the 98th tour this year, because it did have some short breaks—interrupted, of course, only by war. The race lasts for an incredible three weeks. This year it covered more than 3,430 kilometres in 21 stages. It is a long way to push a bicycle. Every year many Australians who are not necessarily dedicated cycling fans actually sit up all night to watch the tour. Many actually travel to France and enjoy the circus that is the Tour de France. They marvel at the pace of the riders, their endurance, their determination, their sheer guts, particularly through the mountain stages, which are complete spectacle. It is something that is quite incredible.

While there have been many great Australians who have competed in the tour and won individual stages, there has never quite been a competitor like Cadel Evans who was ever rated with a serious possibility of winning the tour. For many people it just seemed impossible—how could a small country like Australia so far away in terms of the competitive level of cycling ever possibly compete? That was, of course, until the world heard of Cadel Evans and the bloody mindedness I think of somebody determined that nothing would ever get in the road of achieving that. I read a piece where he said that he had been dreaming of this for 20 years, ever since he was 14 years old—that one day he would win the greatest bike race in the world, the Tour de France. Of course, he is a high-achieving rider—he has not just won this race—but for many this is the pinnacle. This was Cadel's seventh attempt in a long and successful career in a whole range of other global cycling competitions, as we have heard from other speakers. All Australians know that he came very close to winning the Tour de France on a number of occasions, and twice in a row he came second. While that in itself is a phenomenal feat, it must be a huge disappointment to have worked so hard for so long and to have given 100 per cent of everything you could possibly give on every moment of the ride. Given that you are riding about 3½ thousand kilometres, with the possibility of mechanical breakdowns and flat tyres, and the fact that anything that possibly can go wrong will go wrong, to win consistently and finish in No. 1 place is a phenomenal feat.

This year was Cadel's year and, like many other people, I watched, sitting at the edge of my seat, gritting my teeth and biting my nails, thinking the closer and closer he got the more that, potentially, something could go wrong for him, even the fact that he could just have a bad day, if nothing else. He could have slipped going round a corner. As we saw, you can get knocked off your bike by an overexcited media guy in a car. There are just so many possibilities for things to go wrong.

He was well placed right throughout the ride. He had a great team and everyone did a remarkable job. Right through, with all the attacks he sustained, the pressure and the different strategies that apply in this very complex race, Cadel maintained a cool head, a great strategy and an incredible feat of athleticism. When he was within striking distance of the best riders and the best climbers in the world you just knew that he could do it, that this was it, that this was Cadel's year. It was an incredible feat.

Of course, as we all saw on the penultimate stage, Cadel put in probably one of the greatest stage rides of the Tour history. He rode like a man possessed and at an incredible pace, something that I do not think any of us have seen for a very long time. There are some great stages and great heroes of the Tour de France because of the sheer physical endurance in the contribution they have to make, but watching Cadel on that 20th stage was really something to be seen, probably over and over again because I am sure it will be on television. Then we saw that fantastic win for him, and you could see it in his eyes when he put on that yellow jersey. I am almost certain that Cadel is responsible for having the Australian national anthem sung by an Australian on the Champs Elysee for the first time, certainly for the first time at a sporting event, which is quite an incredible achievement.

Cadel is a true champion. He is also humble and respectful, and in a sport that has been tainted with the spectre of doping he is an absolute cleanskin; no-one doubts it. He actually did it the hard way. He had years where he could have won but did not because other people had cheated and he did not. He is a real champion because of all those things. I want to pay tribute to all the other Australians who competed in this year's Tour as well. They are great riders, and racing over three weeks over the sort of distance we are talking about is a great achievement. They are all champions and champions for Australia as well.

I am a keen cyclist, as many people in Canberra are. I am a passionate believer in the benefits of cycling, certainly not at the level of Cadel—none of us could even come close to mentioning our own names in the same sentence as his. With everything that cycling can bring, it truly is a great sport that transcends competition. It is a way of life for many people and I see it as a great benefit for so many people in Australia and around the world.

I want to say thanks to Cadel for what he has done for cycling generally and for cycling in Australia. Congratulations, mate. You are an absolute champion.

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