MORE than 400 cyclists from across the country will descend on Bright and the Alpine Shire this weekend to compete in the Tour of Bright’s 27th running in its 30 year history. The largest club race in Australia is the major event on the Alpine Cycling Club calendar, with two days of racing along the roads of Bright, the Kiewa Valley, Wandiligong and iconic Mount Buffalo Hailed as the greatest stage race in the country, the purely volunteer-run event features three stages of road racing excitement and a prize pool worth $20,000. Head of the organising committee Stuart Tripp and his team has been hard at work organising every little detail for the hundreds of eager participants this weekend. “It’s probably Australia’s greatest professional stage race for amateurs,” he said. “There are 10 different grades within the race: A, B and C male and female; masters A, B and C, and Masters 6+. “All proceeds go back to the club, even though it’s a silver level AusCycling event, and a stage of the Victorian Road Series, it’s still local-run. “It showcases the best of what the North East has to offer, you have some beautiful country you go through during the race. “It’s a tough race too, it’s not a race you just sign up to do a week before with no training, you have to train for it.” Stage one commences on Saturday, with cyclists travelling along the Great Alpine Road to Ovens before heading over Rosewhite Gap and riding all the way up the Kiewa Valley Highway and up Tawonga Gap. The second stage time trial takes place in the afternoon, riding from Bright to Wandiligong and back, before Sunday’s third stage takes riders up Mount Buffalo. With King of the Mountain sections and sprints, riders will be challenged for the duration of the weekend. Tripp said volunteers to help run the event would always be needed, which the club struggles to get. “What a lot of people don’t understand about the Tour of Bright is that it’s essentially a club race – it’s all staffed by volunteers, all run by volunteers,” he said. “We have 161 volunteer shift positions over the two days - it’s huge, there’s no event company putting this race on, it's the community. “There’s been a decline in road cycling that we’re trying to address – the difference with the Tour of Bright is its iconic destination, tough course and its openness to all riders, anyone can have a crack. “There’s a $20,000 prize pool for the race, so it pays out quite a lot for the winners. “It’s going to be a beautiful weekend for the race.” For more information, visit TourOfBright.com.au.
