Ewen Jones (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to voice my congratulations to Cadel Evans and to claim him as Townsville's own. Townsville is truly the home of great sport. We were the home of pre-Olympic training for the swimming teams of 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964 and 1968. We claim as our own Dawn Fraser, John and Ilsa Konrads, Murray Rose—all the truly great Australian swimmers from our golden era—because they trained at Tobruk pool under the legendary coaching of 'Stumpy' Lawrence. Stumpy was the father of Laurie Lawrence—Wallaby, swimming coach and creator of Kids AliveDo the Five! He is a Townsville boy, Laurie Lawrence. He actually went to a dance with my mother-in-law when she was at St Pat's.

Cadel Evans rode in Townsville. That is why I am speaking about him today and why he is claimed as Townsville's own. To see this guy go round the strand, for someone who does not understand the sport, was nothing special. I was at the dinner where he donated his pushbike to be auctioned by local charities. They raised $15,000 for a pushbike! I thought to myself, 'My goodness, what is going on here?' But to have won the Tour de France after so much heartache and after so much pressure—what an effort. He is a truly great man. In a sport that has been tainted, that we have someone from Australia who can stand up and be better than everybody else in the world at that race is truly unbelievable. I do wish him all the best, I do congratulate him, I do add Townsville's voice to those congratulations. He can come back to the TP Human Capital triathlon and ride the cycle leg in my team next year or any year he chooses.

Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I start today I acknowledge the presence in this chamber of Flying Officer Kevin Wilson of the Australian Air Force, who is here as part of the Australian Defence Force Parliamentary Program. We welcome you, Kevin.

I rise to congratulate Cadel Evans on his win in the Tour de France. He is our first ever Australian Tour de France winner. Cadel is a living example of our great Australian spirit, a living example of our Australian capacity to overcome adversity both in life and in sporting endeavours. As Australians we all love our sporting heroes and we are inordinately proud of Cadel's success. We feel as though he epitomises the things we value and respect in our sports people: dedication, planning, focus and discipline, what we know would have been lonely days and lonely years of hard work and sheer determination in competition—often at times of disappointment and frustration; a very graphic example for young people of what it takes to succeed in the pursuit of their dreams and ambitions in sport and in life.

When I read the headlines, like so many of us did, I saw Cadel described as: 'King Cadel', 'Tour de Champ', 'Evans Above', 'King of the Road', and the most telling one of all, 'Our Hero'. That is what we all thought after that: he was our hero. I really want to use this as an opportunity to thank Cadel for inspiring another generation of young people to have a goal. That is what Cadel's win has done: it has inspired a whole lot of young Australians to get on a bike or to take up a sport and to have a go. They have been motivated by his success. He has demonstrated how to do it. He demonstrated that success does not necessarily come easily. He had much to overcome in his life. So young people are now looking through Cadel's life story and thinking, 'Gee, it did not just happen.'

Cadel was born in Katherine, in the Northern Territory, and spent his childhood in a small Aboriginal community. He spent seven days in an induced coma after being hit in the head by a horse. Doctors feared he would never walk again. That is an excellent motivation for young people. Cadel achieved in spite of the challenges in his life. In fact, his father described him as a good student but an ordinary kid. He said, 'Not in my wildest dreams' would he have ever imagined that his son would become a top world athlete. Cadel even says of himself: 'It is strange that I could become a professional athlete. Physically I am completely unsuitable for almost all Australian school sports. Nearly all Australian school sports require speed and/or size.' He had neither of those. What another great example for young people.

Cadel started young. He was only two when he was into BMX bikes. He made his name as a champion international mountain biker, winning world championships and world cups. His switch to road racing in 2000 saw him go on to win gold and silver medals in the Commonwealth Games, not a minor feat by any means, and gold in the World Championship elite men's road race 2009 as well as a string of major wins in Europe. He was named Australian Cyclist of the Year in 2006 and 2007. Cadel had to manage the frustration of serious injuries, something that plagues all sports people no matter what field they are in. He had to experience mechanical failures and, at times, poor support and poor form. I am sure there are a lot of sports people who would understand those challenges.

In spite of this, in the 2009 Tour de France he took two podium places, becoming one of Australia's most successful cyclists. For a third time he was named Australian Cyclist of the Year. And 2010 brought more success, and he held the yellow jersey for nine of the Tour de France stages in spite of riding with a fractured left elbow from a crash. What courage and what determination.

But as we know, it was the 2011 Tour de France victory that has ignited Australians. Thousands and thousands of us watched his progress through the stages. We saw him chase down the early breakaway and we really wondered how he would go when he had to change bikes and he fell back in the field. We wondered just how he would go after that. But I think Cadel knew not only that he had all his own qualities but that he had a nation riding with him—we were all there with him.

The excitement was quite palpable right throughout the country. If you went into an office here in Parliament House or into any office or workplace—a mechanic's shop or wherever—people were talking about Cadel Evans and willing him to win. Everyone was with him. And, by gee, wasn't the win celebrated! I know from listening to Cadel that it did not really sink in straight after his win just what he had achieved, and probably it has taken him some time to understand just what it meant to everyone in this nation. But after the welcome home parade I hope that now both Cadel and his wife, Chiara, understand just how much his win has meant. He deserves this, as does his family.

I also hope that many young Australian children who live in small, remote, rural and regional communities understand that in Australia you, like Cadel, are not limited by your postcode, and it is not just about sport. It does not matter where you are born or where you grow up, or even how many times people tell you that you do not fit the right profile for your sport or your ambition. There is no reason why you cannot, like Cadel, follow and achieve your dreams.

The name of Cadel's biography is Close to Flying, and I know that all the young people who were glued to their TVs and laptops watching the Tour de France have been inspired by Cadel's sporting achievements. But I also hope, as has been mentioned previously, that they replicate his personal qualities because, as we heard, he is one of the good guys in cycling—he loves the sport and is a fair sportsman. He has a great belief in charities and he supports the Amy Gillett Foundation to help reduce the risk of accidents between cyclists and motorists—something that he and other cyclists have to deal with every day while they are out riding.

And he has said that he has 'a long, strong passion and interest for Tibet and its culture'. He has a range of interests. He sponsors a Tibetan child living in Nepal and studying in a Tibetan school. He also supports Ian Thorpe's Fountain for Youth, which is a foundation producing and distributing reading packs to Aboriginal communities in remote Australia. For so many reasons Cadel is a living example for not only young people but for all of us who know about his story.

I want to finish by again congratulating Cadel. If you read these particular contributions, Cadel, I hope you know just how much your win has meant to millions of Australians and what a profound impact it has on the lives and dreams of some of our wonderful young people in this nation.

Stephen Jones (Throsby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to associate myself and all the cycling enthusiasts in my electorate of Throsby with the statements of congratulations to Cadel Evans. Cadel was born in the Northern Territory town of Katherine. He later spent time growing up in northern New South Wales and in Victoria—so many Australian towns can claim a little bit of Cadel as a part of their history and culture.

His early years were not without their difficulties. At the age of seven Cadel was injured in an accident involving a horse and spent a week in an induced coma. A love of bike riding came early in life, as it does for many Aussie kids, with the ubiquitous BMX bike. However, for Cadel this love of cycling proved to be an enduring affair that would take him from the Australian Institute of Sport to the Champs Elysees. After a talented junior career as a mountain bike rider, including podium finishes in two under-23 world championships, Cadel made the switch to road racing.

Perhaps the solitude of competitive cycling appealed to the only child of Helen and Paul. Cadel's story highlights two necessary elements common to all who strive for excellence—passion and determination. To quote Cadel's own words:

I worked at it and, over the years, my cycling improved. It's what happens to anyone when they're passionate about what they do. You ride your bike and enjoy it. Ride more, get better at it. Ride more, perfect your method … It's a natural progression when you're having fun.

This simple philosophy—passion, practice and the quest for perfection—has resulted in an impressive list of achievements. Cadel announced his arrival in his first Tour de France in 2005, by winning eighth place in the overall classification—the first Australian since the famous Phil Anderson to finish in the top 10. Many Australians heard the name of Cadel Evans first in 2008, where the absence of the defending champion Alberto Contador led many observers to declare that this young Australian was favourite to win the event. Cadel finished second overall, which was an amazing achievement by any reckoning, but it was clear that the weight of the nation's expectation was a heavy burden on this young athlete.

Australians are used to sporting success and our athletes regularly punch above their weight on the world stage. Sometimes we expect too much and fail to recognise the quality of the achievement, irrespective of the result. I remember Cadel apologising to Australians for not being good enough to win the 2008 and thinking, 'You are apologising to us when we should be congratulating you.' In 2009, Cadel won the road race and the men's world championship. Unfortunately, injury derailed his 2010 campaign in France. But it would be Cadel's year in 2011. While many of us watched the penultimate stage that delivered Cadel an unassailable lead over his closest rivals, it was the day before that stands out in my memory. I remember that last mountain stage, with the Schleck brothers leading the gruelling climb from the Mondane to the Alpe d'Huez. Cadel's assault on Andy Schleck's lead was frustrated by mechanical difficulties. It was hard not to remember 2008. Would this be another case of so close yet so far? But no-one told Cadel Evans this. He fought back, he refused to submit and he pushed his body and his bike to breaking point and beyond. Cadel finished that stage within striking distance of Andy Schleck. The next stage was his pet event, the time trial—and, as they say, the rest is history. That day's riding was the epitome of courage in the face of adversity. Those champion qualities on display made for an experience that was simply exhilarating and quite unforgettable. It took a few more days before Cadel was crowned overall winner of le tour. But for my mind, Cadel won it on that day on the road to Alpe d'Huez, when he displayed the grit, the determination and the courage to play the hand he was dealt, despite the circumstances. Some may say he played and won the Australian way. I certainly do. Congratulations, Cadel Evans.

John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australians love sport and they love their sporting heroes. We have revealed through various golden eras, where our greatest have excelled, taken on the world and brought glory to each of us through association. Our greater sportsmen or women, however, attain our highest honour of legendary status not just through their triumphs on their field of their endeavour but through our ability to relate to them as fellow Australians, that allows our children to dream that if they were a famous sporting hero they would want to be just like them. The characteristics of our greatest are the characteristics that we as Australians hold uniquely above other standards. Jeff Harding epitomised the sheer guts in the face of adversity in the most brutal of sports, when battered and bruised he fought back from certain defeat to win the light heavyweight WBC title in his 15th professional fight against the great Dennis Andries. Was he our greatest boxer? Maybe, maybe not, but definitely a worthy candidate as our greatest fighter. On the aspect of his character alone, his place in Australian history is secure forever. Our Don is remembered as much for his final innings and the way he accepted his dismissal for a duck that left him short of achieving his goal of a test average of 100. We are as much enchanted by the talents beyond us mere mortals. We take great pleasure in marvelling at the way that Benny Elias could handle a wet football, at the sight of John Konrads gliding through the water and at the agility of Tim Watson—distinctly different from the enormity of Tony Lockett, yet their stature in the game was just the same. Evonne Goolagong's grace about the court belied her speed, which was the equal of Lionel Rose. Hubert Opperman won races in Paris and London and competed valiantly in the Tour de France with a team of just four against European teams of 10. Dawn Fraser's Aussie character of irreverence and final vindication was her mark as much as her gold medals at three Olympics. We marvel at the legion of tennis greats, from Ken Rosewall's science and artistry to the way that Pat Rafter accepted his loss at the Wimbledon final. Modest in victory and gracious in defeat, and yet all fighters every inch of the way.

Cadel Evans has all of these qualities in abundance. His chance so cruelly extinguished last year after wearing the yellow jersey with pride despite a fractured elbow. At 33 years of age, surely his chance for the greatest crown in cycling was gone. This was accepted with a smile on his face. His family and friends and those who participate in this sport were so aware of his extraordinary achievement in carrying injuries and fighting on—just like Jeff Harding years earlier. This year, burdened by 34 years, past his prime, but still a gallant competitor, he battled all the way. Back in the field during this race, the greatest test of endurance, surely the aged Australian must have had thoughts of the opportunities lost in the years prior haunting the road before him. There was no quit in him. Gracious in defeat last year, modest in victory to a fault this year. To Don, Ken, Evonne, Dawn and Oppy: you have a new and worthy peer, a champion in sport but, more significantly for we Australians and the standards by which we uniquely judge, a champion bloke.

Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to take this opportunity to pay tribute to a great Australian sportsman, Cadel Evans, because I believe that he epitomises what is great about sport in this country and the great principles of sport at the elite level. There is a tendency among the sport spectating public to see sport as just the competition; to see the final sprint and the podium presentation. That is not where the race was won. Cadel Evans did not just line up at the start of the 2011 Tour de France. He has a long history of competition and training, and that led to his victory.

He was born on 14 February 1977 in the Northern Territory, calling Victoria home for most of his youth. He makes the point that he really did not fit into the sports that were played at his schools, because he was not big and was not fast. Yet it was the case that he developed a strong interest in cross-country bike racing in 1991. Psychologically tough, he was dedicated to this sort of endurance sport. In 1994, he began to branch out into road racing to help with his mountain bike racing. It was, however, not until 2001 that he finally transitioned completely to road racing. In 1998 and 1999, he had won the world cup in mountain biking. We should also remember that he came seventh in mountain biking at the Sydney Olympics.

He is best known for his more recent career on the road. The most famous of all the road races is the Tour de France, which takes place across the varied landscapes of France and on occasions in the territory of its neighbours. I and many Australians like to tune in to the excellent SBS coverage of the tour each July. I appreciate the effort involved, which appears to be superhuman at times. But, as I said, it does not just start on day one and finish some three weeks later. It so often starts with a dream in youth and a determination to undertake the training required to achieve the goals that individuals set themselves. That is what sets elite sports men and women apart from others.

For the elite competitors like Cadel Evans and Samantha Stosur, winner of the US Open in tennis, there are endless hours of training that we do not see. They often do that training by themselves. While most of us are still asleep, they are up training before dawn without the glitz, without the glory and without the attention of the fans or the media. They train by running long miles, by lifting weights, through strength and conditioning workouts and then through their sports specific training. Heart rate monitors and video recordings of their techniques are just some of their aids to maximise their performance and, in the case of Cadel Evans, to try to get those extra hundredths of a second's improvement that will see him victorious. The point is that nothing just happens on the day for Cadel Evans or athletes like him; nothing comes down to chance and nor will some lucky charm provide victory.

When you look back at the competitive career of Cadel Evans, it was certainly clear that he had great potential to succeed. Ten years ago, in 2001, he won the Tour of Austria and since then there have been stage or overall victories each year, culminating in victory in the most famous cycling race in the world, the Tour de France.

Although he has trained very hard throughout his career, he has also had to contend with the psychological challenges that are so often very much a part of elite level sport. There is no doubt that Cadel Evans's highs have exceeded his lows. However, his second places in the tour in 2007 and 2008 and then not achieving the podium in 2009 and 2010 would have made a lesser sportsman wonder whether their time had passed, but in 2011 it was clear that Cadel Evans was in excellent form: fit and, above all, tough psychologically. He won the Tirreno-Adriatico race and the Tour de Romandie and came second in the Criterium du Dauphine. His win in the fourth stage was followed by overall victory in the general classification in the Tour de France. As I have already said, such success is not a result of luck. An elite athlete must be psychologically and physically tough. They must be prepared to sacrifice a comfortable existence for the solitude of training, all in pursuit of their dream.

I do not call professional athletes or elite sportsmen heroes. They do not risk their lives for others in pursuit of noble causes. They are not like our soldiers or our emergency service people, but they do provide us all with a very good example of what is important and what great principles of sport exist for others to emulate. They show our young people that great sporting success is not achieved by merely showing up on race day but, rather, that success is the culmination of hard training, commitment and psychological strength. What Cadel Evans has shown us all is that success is not an overnight plan but, rather, the outcome of a dream, brought to reality by a commitment to a lifetime of effort.

We were there with him for that final ride into Paris, but what we know is that if we desire such success ourselves we need to be there for the training and the preparation, where there is no cheering crowd and where it is wet and cold and not just when the sun is shining. We need to understand that defeat may be on the path to victory and that we must be resilient to the challenges that face us. This is what I see as the lessons that Cadel Evans has provided for us all, so I honour him for his lifetime of dedication which has seen him ascend to the very top of cycling in the world.

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with great pride and joy that I rise today to speak on this motion to honour and celebrate Cadel Evans, world champion mountain biker, world champion road racer and world champion Tour de France winner.

I got to know about the Tour de France and the intricacies of it from my uncle—my late mother's brother Paddy O'Brien—on family holidays to Magnetic Island. One of the key highlights used to be that, down on the beach the next morning, my uncle described the race and the trials and tribulations which had taken place throughout the night on SBS's coverage. With the way he told of the intricacies of the race, the teamwork that was required and the individual skill and determination that were needed, I grew a fascination for the Tour de France and I started to watch it myself. I have got to say that this year it was fantastic to, once again, be able to go on a family holiday to Magnetic Island—and my Uncle Paddy was there—at the start of the Tour de France, the first three or four days, and talk to him about it. I remember saying to him, 'It's Cadel versus the Schleck brothers this time. Can he do it?' He was confident that, with the right amount of luck, Cadel could do it—and it was fantastic to see him do it.

I was back at home in the electorate when stage 19 took place. I had been out that night and was lucky enough to get home and to be able to sit down and watch stage 19. I must confess that my heart sank when Cadel hit mechanical trouble. I thought, 'Oh, no, not again.' But Cadel was going to have none of it and, in the true Australian way, dug deep—he dug into his inner self as I do not think anyone else could have—and was able to ride back into the Tour de France in that fateful stage 19. That was important, but there was also the time trial. He had to make up time in the time trial and he had faced a similar situation in 2008. He did not have quite as much time to make up this year, but in 2008 he had to try to catch Carlo Sastre and he was not able to. I could not help thinking, as he lined up for the time trial this year, about how he was dealing with the demons from 2008—whether he was thinking, 'I mightn't be able to do it, again; I might fall just seconds short; it's possible Andy Schleck might ride the time trial of his life and I might just not get there.' But he rode the time trial of his life and put his place in the Tour de France beyond doubt. It reminded me of other memorable sporting achievements I have seen. I remember Pat Cash winning Wimbledon and having that same sense of euphoria, being up late at night and seeing an Australian sportsman achieve such a feat—and what Cadel Evans achieved was great.

It is an absolute pleasure and honour to speak on this motion. I congratulate Cadel Evans, I congratulate his coach and I congratulate his team, because if there is one thing my uncle taught me it is that you cannot win the Tour de France unless you have good team. This year, I think more than any other, Cadel had a team which meant that victory was his. So to Cadel, his team, his coaches—including his late coach, whom Cadel rightly recognised for the incredible contribution he made to Cadel's career—I say: I commend you all, I congratulate you all and I hope I am up at Magnetic Island again next year to witness the start of the race and talk about it with my uncle and, hopefully, see Cadel win back-to-back.

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to acknowledge the remarkable sporting achievement of a remarkable Australian. At age 34, hailing originally from the Northern Territory, Cadel Evans has achieved what no other Australian has achieved before: winning the Tour de France. Like millions of Australians, my wife and I stayed up late in the night to watch Cadel's performance over the gruelling 21-stage, 23-day, 3,430-kilometre race. As part-time riders and survivors of Tony Abbott's Pollie Pedal, we watched in awe as Cadel showed his sheer skill, tenacity and physical capability.

This year the race, in its 98th year, was full of drama and suspense as Cadel came from behind to seize the yellow jersey in his brilliant ride in the individual time trial through Grenoble on the penultimate day. His battle up the Alps with the Schleck brothers, Andy and Frank, and last year's champion, Alberto Contador—who, by the way, my wife said has the best name in world sport—was something to behold. So too was the incident on the final days, when Cadel struck technical difficulties with his bike and was forced to jump on another machine and chase down those ahead, making up what seemed like a mountain—excuse the pun—of time. Watching the tour, it became abundantly clear how important Cadel's colleagues in the BMC team were to his eventual win. The yellow jersey may be worn on the shoulders of only one, but it really is a victory shared by all. No doubt Cadel will be hoping for a similar team effort when he seeks to repeat his victory next year. But, whatever the result in 2012, Cadel Evans has secured a treasured place in the annals of Australian sporting fame. It caps a wonderful career for Cadel, which has seen him progress from being a medallist at the 1995 world mountain bike championships, to the Commonwealth Games time trial champion in 2002, to being the 2009 winner of the world championship road race in Switzerland.

I know I join with hundreds and maybe thousands of riders in Kooyong, from Hawthorn to Kew, from Camberwell to Balwyn and from Surrey Hills to Canterbury, in congratulating Cadel and his wife Chiara on this brilliant achievement which will inspire many other Australians to take to their bikes. Cadel, you have made your country proud, you have made your family proud, but most of all you have performed to the best of your abilities and fulfilled your lifelong dream. No person could hope for anymore.

John Murphy (Reid, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

By way of finality, I too would like to associate myself with the magnificent contributions that have been made by honourable members to the statements about someone who was clearly an inspiration. We hope that his efforts in France inspire many young people to follow the dream that he followed, not to mention the great benefit to health and lifestyle. Yes, Cadel Evans kept my wife and me up late. We were enthralled with the SBS broadcast, and they should be congratulated for that, particularly Phil Liggett for his very incisive comments. Finally, Cadel certainly presents as a very modest and humble Australian. He brings great credit to our country. He is a wonderful ambassador. Indeed, Cadel Evans you are a great Australian and I too salute you like other honourable members.