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

Australian cycling has a long and proud history, most notably dating back to Sir Hubert ‘Oppy’ Opperman, who was Australia’s greatest cyclist of his time and who held many world records in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1951 there was the great ride from all over Australia to Canberra, and there was the centenary ride in 2001 to celebrate 100 years since Federation.

There are many great cycling moments of significance and importance in our history, from the opening up of the Tour de France by people like Phil Anderson, Stephen Hodge, Robbie McEwen and the greats of today, to the stage win of Simon Gerrans and the outstanding results of Cadel Evans—not only by taking many yellow jerseys but also in his enormous courage and his personal effort in being the first Australian to stand on the finishers’ podium, having taking out second place two years in a row in this most prestigious of international cycling races. All Australians are proud of his efforts and are hoping for bigger results in the future. Cadel, we are all with you in your efforts.

Last week I had the great pleasure of representing the Minister for Sport, the Hon. Kate Ellis, at the Australian cycling awards. This was a gathering of Australia’s great cycling past and present and also our very bright future. The event was hosted by Cycling Australia and it was a showcase of the talented young Australians who give their all to their sport in all its forms. All the nominees are great ambassadors for cycling at all levels—nationally and also on the international stage. I want to congratulate the Cycling Australia president, Mike Victor OAM, for the huge success of the awards and acknowledge also former Tour de France rider Stephen Hodge for being the MC for the evening.

The winners this year are fantastic ambassadors for Australia. They are Cameron Meyer from Western Australia, who is the elite male track cyclist of the year, and Anna Meares OAM, a great Queenslander, who is the elite female track cyclist of the year. The elite road cyclist of the year was Cadel Evans from Victoria, who, at the peak of his career in 2008, was on the podium for second place in the Tour de France and who, despite an injured knee, finished fifth in the time trial in Beijing and 15th in the road race at the Olympic Games. We all know that Anna Meares had a great victory in the sprint at the Oceania Championships but in January suffered major injuries in a crash at the Los Angeles World Cup. She fought back from a broken neck to secure a start in Beijing and won an Olympic Games silver medal in the sprint. That was a fantastic effort from her.

The elite female road cyclist of the year is Vicki Whitelaw from the ACT and the elite male mountain bike cyclist of the year was Sam Hill from Western Australia. The elite female mountain bike cyclist of the year is Caroline Buchanan from the ACT. The BMX male cyclist of the year is Jared Graves from Queensland and the elite female cyclist of the year is Nicole Callisto from Western Australia. The male para-cyclist of the year is Chris Scott OAM, a fellow Queenslander. The female para-cyclist of the year is Lindy Hou OAM and pilot, Toireasa Gallagher from New South Wales. There are some great people there.

The junior male track cyclist of the year is Luke Davison from New South Wales. The female junior track cyclist of the year is Megan Dunn of New South Wales and the male junior road cyclist of the year is Michael Matthews of the ACT. The female junior road cyclist of the year is Lauren Kitchen from New South Wales. The male junior mountain bike cyclist of the year is Sam Willoughby from South Australia. The female junior mountain bike cyclist of the year is Caroline Buchanan from the ACT. The male BMX junior cyclist of the year is Sam Willoughby from South Australia and the female junior BMX junior cyclist of the year is Lauren Reynolds from Western Australia. Of course, the SBS Television Coach of the Year award went to Brian Stephens, who coaches Anna Meares, who is absolutely fantastic.

The Scody 2008 People’s Choice Cyclist of the Year was awarded to Anna Meares, a truly great Australian who overcame great adversity to be recognised for all her efforts and the silver medal that she won. For me whether it is a silver medal or any medal, it is gold, gold, gold all the way for her efforts. The biggest gong of the evening was the Sir Hubert Opperman Medal and Trophy. It was a wonderful evening and to have that presented to Anna Meares was a great finale to a fantastic event. (Time expired)