SA puts more money in the saddle
A report in Adelaide Now says that the SA State Government will increase its investment in the Tour Down Under if the cycle race gains Pro Tour status, Tourism Minister Jane Lomax-Smith has declared.
The Pro Tour’s governing body will decide in September if the SA event is given the increased status and if the Government is successful, the race will become one of cycling’s premier events outside Europe.
Tourism Minister Jane Lomax-Smith has returned from London where she had talks with cycling’s world governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale, to coincide with the start of the Tour De France.
Dr Lomax-Smith said she was not aware of which countries were competing against SA to gain Pro Tour status but she said she was “optimistic” of SA’s chances, adding, “We do know bidders might come from China and California but we do not know how many Pro-Tour destinations will be chosen”. “You have to just be optimistic.”
She said her four-day visit to London gave her an invaluable opportunity to present SA’s case for gaining Pro Tour status for the race, saying, “I think that whenever you are in a lobbying and promotional cycle you have to give it your best shot”. “You have to fight at every opportunity, present your case at every opportunity.”
“There is no better opportunity when the cycling fraternity is in London for the start of the Tour De France to make that case.”
She said that if SA were successful in its bid, more money would have to be spent on the race here as costs would increase but she would not reveal how much more funding would have to be provided by the State Government, saying, “We have obviously examined how we will manage this and when you run these events you recognise there will be costs but there are additional sponsorship opportunities and clearly the investment, we believe, will be good for South Australian tourism.”
“We have made this bid and we have made this commitment.” “We will follow through.” “There will be costs but this is an important positioning for South Australia in that it certainly helps our tourism marketing because people see us around the world.”
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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