Roamfree gives $20m to set up Aussie Tour de France team
An AAP report says that Australia cycling’s holy grail is $20 million closer to becoming a reality, with following months of speculation and planning and years of dreaming before that, Australian-based tourism company Roamfree.com, led by MD Tony Smith, on Tuesday pledged the sum over four years towards the formation of a team to compete in the Tour de France.
The backers also announced the formation of a company, Pro Cycling Australia, to oversee the creation of the squad, which will target this country’s best riders, including Cadel Evans, Michael Rogers, Robbie McEwen and Stuart O’Grady, and plans to have the team operating in 2009.
McEwen has been involved heavily in the project for several months and it also has strong connections with Cycling Australia. Tony Smith, who played 17 AFL games for Sydney in the mid-1980s and is a keen amateur cyclist, said, “We think, given the current crop of Australian riders competing in the Tour de France and all the other pro cycling events, it’s a great opportunity for the formation of an Australian team”.
“I met Robbie McEwen a couple of years ago and asked him why he wasn’t riding for the Australian team and when he said there wasn’t one, I couldn’t believe it.”
Australian cycling has enjoyed a boom at the highest level and at the grass roots over the last decade, but until now, no local professional team has attracted the necessary financial clout to be in a position to attract a Tour start.
Roamfree.com is contributing $5 million of the $15 million per year it will need to finance the team, so Pro Cycling Australia chief executive Dr Paul Varcoe will seek federal government backing and at least one more big sponsor.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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