Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

The 2022 UCI Road World Championships have concluded in my hometown of Wollongong. More than a thousand of the top international cyclists from over 90 countries took part in the course. Our Aussie team made the country and the region incredibly proud, and I'd like to extend my congratulations to the men's and the women's elite and time trial teams. We scooped up a few medals, including a bronze in the team time trial, mixed division; a bronze for the Aussie rider Michael Matthews in the main event, the men's elite road race; and two silvers, for Grace Brown, in the elite women's individual time trial, and Hamish McKenzie in the junior men's individual time trial. I'd also like to congratulate Illawarra local Josie Talbot for her efforts. In a spectacular turn of events, she was able to ride past her home along the course in Wollongong in her UCI debut. You made the entire region proud.

Wollongong put on a show, with the race broadcast globally to millions of viewers. Event organisers estimate that across the nine days there were over 200,000 attendees enjoying the city. The Wollongong 2022 Community Ride saw over 2,600 participants jump on their bikes and over 1,300 volunteers dedicate their time to show the world how amazing and beautiful the region really is. The event is going to have a long-term ongoing impact for the region's tourism industry, with a direct injection of money into the local economy, as well as the City of Wollongong being awarded the UCI Bike City status prior to the event, as a show of the commitment that the international body has and for the effort that the region made. This makes Wollongong the only city in the Southern Hemisphere to have received the status with the official label, and it was received by the city and my good friend the deputy lord mayor, Tania Brown, at the opening ceremony. Holding the UCI in Wollongong has had a direct flow-on effect for the region.

No telling of the story could pass without making remark of Dutch female cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten, who won the female elite event with a broken elbow—she made an amazing final dash in the last kilometre to pass the peloton and take the gold—and also Remco Evenepoel from Belgium, who headed a fantastic team from that country with a spectacular finish as well. For me, as an avid cyclist myself, it was a privilege. I couldn't spend as much time as I would have liked to at the event. I spent most of my time watching it on telly, but it was a great event, and the city did the region and the country proud.

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