Bike fanatics get a double boost
Cycling celebration Velofest received a double boost yesterday with Perth awarded the right to host the 2016 UCI World Cycling Tour Final and the popular Freeway Bike Hike for Asthma aligning with the week-long event.
Telethon was also unveiled as the new naming rights sponsor for the Freeway Bike Hike, with plans to increase participation from the current 8000 riders up to about 10,000.
Freshly retired German cycling legend Jens Voigt was on hand for the announcement, which will bring more than 1000 amateur competitors to Perth for the Amateur Road World Championships in October 2016.
Voigt, a regular participant in Adelaide's Tour Down Under, said cycling enjoyed massive popularity in Australia.
Perth hosted the first UCI World Cycling Tour qualifier in 2011 and the event has been incorporated into Velofest for the past two years.
Held from March 22-29, Velofest begins with the Telethon Freeway Bike Hike for Asthma before elite riders from across the country and the globe take centre stage for the Woodside Tour De Perth, the first event of the 2015 Subaru National Road Series.
The UCI World Cycling Tour qualifier will provide competitors with an early opportunity to race on the 2016 Amateur Road World Championships course, as well as book a spot at the 2015 World Championships in Denmark.
