Greater Shepparton City Council Team Leader Tourism and Events, Anthony Nicolaci says the cycling event will see over 1,000 visitors to Shepparton for up to five days (Wednesday to Sunday) with 500 competitors in the Under 15 and Under 17 age groups.
“The event will bring the best talent from all around Australia to Shepparton and will include time trial, road race and criterion disciplines. Whilst the final schedule is yet to be developed, some events will be held in Dookie and some in Shepparton,” said Mr Nicolaci.
“As an additional bonus there will also be an opportunity to expand our annual Victorian State Series Shepparton Junior Tour event, run by the local Shepparton Cycling Club, in June 2015 with additional interstate visitors as a major pre-event,” he said.
“This bid was part of a number we have pitched with Cycling Australia through a very competitive tender process for their national events between 2015 and 2018.”
Mr Nicolaci said Shepparton previously hosted the event in 2011. “Gaining hosting rights for 2015 continues our reputation as the sporting event capital of Victoria and continues Shepparton’s strong history of hosting major cycling events including the 2012 Cycling Australia Under 19 Road National Championships; the 2011 Oceania Road and Mountain Bike Championships; the 2010 and 2014 BMX National and Oceania Championships; and the 2010 Australian Mountain Bike Series.”
Cycling Victoria General Manager Kipp Kaufmann said “Shepparton has consistently been a great host of National Cycling Championships. We look forward to working with Greater Shepparton City Council to deliver this fantastic event."
Other national high profile events recently secured for the region include Australian Speedway Titles at Undera in January, BMX Australia Nationals Series in February and the Junior Davis and Federation Cup Tennis Asia Oceania Tie in April.
