Spring day in Victoria

I had been looking forward to the cycling taking centre stage, with the arrival of some of this sport's top names arriving in Melbourne for the UCI World Championships taking place next weekend in Geelong (70km drive from Melbourne). In case you haven't heard though, the cycling has been up-staged - by Australian Rules Football! The AFL Grand Final was played yesterday, but finished in a DRAW! The rules of the game do not allow extra time, or a golden goal - and therefore next weekend Melbourne will first and foremost host the replay of the AFL Grand Final - and the cycling will unfortunately play second fiddle. (Aside - AFL is Melbourne's ultimate sporting extravaganza, and nothing in Melbourne can up-stage the AFL Grand Final, attended by a capacity MCG crowd (100,000 spectators in the stadium), and at least three live sites in the city one for each team's supporters and one that is non-partisan.) The head of World Road Cycling Championships, is reported to have "felt sick" once the status of the match became apparent.

However after yesterday's surprise draw, a quick morning bike ride (60km to Mordialloc along Beach Road), today we made our way to Buninyong, just outside Ballarat, for the holding of the Sun World Cycling Classic 2010. It was the first really warm day in Victoria after the winter, and the field had some of the top names in cycling (including Phil Liggett commentating) preparing for the UCI World Champs next week. We watched the riders complete seven laps, before the sprint to the finish line. The winner was Italian Filippo Pozzato, Cancellara finishing fourth.