Yay. Topgear is back on. You bloody ripper.

+1000000000000 those boys are living the dream huh??? Porsche 911 indeed!!

I assume that episode was filmed before hammond slid face first down the runway in yorkshire at 450km/h and lived. If im not mistaken its actually the fastest ever recorded 'survived' road accident? or something like that??

That guy is nuts!! :D

Thats on the other side of the interweb. I hadn't gotten there yet.

I just want the sport to grow here :o Can I call you out on the venue then? I know its a 'tough' course but whats the fun of having half the field 'give up' cos they have nothing to ride for?

I know I am uneducated in cycling but none of this is making sense to me :(

One weekend in the year cycling takes over the CBD in melb for a few hours. You start them in Port Melbourne and send them down the mecca to the clock tower and back then up st kilda rd. Then take them straight from richmond to the dandenongs up to olinda and a few loops up there then its back into Melbourne and right into the CBD for 20-25km of tight crit type racing to the finish line back down st kilda road.

You have the big national 'road bicycle' trade fair running the same weekend in at jeffs shed.

I mean the sport MUST get prime time news coverage on the day of its national titles - no excuses whatsoever.

Anyone got other ideas in this? Something has to be done :(

They've tried similar things. City starts for the Warnambool, Sun tour starts and finishes in the city, races at the Botanic Gardens - including Comm Games and national championships on multiple occassions, Melbourne-Sorrento, Bay Series crits at Docklands and Southbank, Crits in Richmond and Carlton, blah blah blah de farkin blah.

Australians won six Gold medals at the Olympics. If the truth be known this beat the crap out of the swimmers with their 7 golds because cycling have only 1/3rd the amount of events. Does anyone care? No. People think cycling they think drugs or they think controversy. Pate, Neiwand, Hill, Jaijka, French, Anderson, Watt, Tyler-Sharmann, Walsh. Anderson got a yellow jersey in 1981 and got the back page of the Herald. He managed to get the front page over his divorce.

No one gives a sht. TDU is the only really successful promotion going and it has a state government behind it. Lets see if it is here in 10 years. There are a couple of promotors making a living off running races but its their bread and butter. They don't have the resources or want the risk of stepping up to the next level. The Sun Tour has a new promotor who gives it all the bells and whistles but knows stuff all about bike racing. The Commonwealth Bank classic folded. Half of the big races in NSW folded. Theres no Melbourne to Yarrawonga, melbourne to Shepparton, Melbourne to Colac, Lakes Tour, Mockeridge Memorial or Australian King of the Mountain title anymore. Because the public and sponsors don't give a stuff.

BTW, I like watching the race at Ballarat but the course is too difficult IMO. It needs 4-5km of flat road somewhere in the circuit. Portarlington was better for the racing.

I understand what you are saying and no I didnt know there was such a litany of failures.

There will always be a national titles so its continuity isnt in question and in that case why cant the cycling community from across Australia come together to make it the 'icon' event to present to the broader mainstream community as a sport 'worthy' of their ongoing attention and participation? I mean like any church the 'members' have to come together on mass at some point. This doesnt seem to happen??

This CAN be achieved. For crying out load the ATB got full coverage on all primetime commerical TV in Melbourne last year!!!!!!!!!!

There has to be a recipe that will be be palatable to the broader community of the 'cycling' public. It just needs to be found. I dont think the public think drugs or controversy. Right now they dont think anything. Im a joe blow. I ride my bike. You serve me up the right event I will go.

I agree it does sound very hard course if only 19 finish. That cant be ideal for the sport.

Also have you considered entering the funride event management business with your dad? Why are there not more fun rides being organised. Maybe my head is in the sand on that one? Thats actually where the grass roots of cycling is grown isnt it? Other than cyclists popping out kids and engraining them in the culture?

Also the cycling federation of Australia should be sponsoring a 'bus tour' which goes from high school to high school around the country all year round promoting the sport and introducing it to the kids. This is important because many schools dont offer anything to do with cycling in their P.E classes. Kids could get up close to road bikes...maybe meet an upand coming track or road star and maybe get the chance to ride around on some of these bikes, watch a few videos...kids arent even getting a chance to fall in love with the sport at present...they are getting sucked into football etc without a chance to consider cycling!!

I am a real fan of marit safin - he makes watching tennis almost bearable...he is always mere seconds away from a tantrum :) its gold!!

Nope. Personally I'm not business orientated. Working class, wasn't brought up in that enviroment and hence am very risk averse. Besides, you cant compete against Bicycling Victoria. Too hard. I know people who have tried.

They do similar things already. Talent spotting programs, school visits. Dean Woods is employed in some capacity with the state government for bike ed and road safety - I know because he's down here at the schools every year or so

Just about everything you have suggested has been tried at some stage. The sport is extremely political, the national federation is not entreprenureal or media savvy enough (nor are some of the promoters - track cycling at Vodaphone is as good a spectator sport as anything - craps on swimming - and should be packing them in but nobody knows its on) and the national federation and the AOC hate one anothers guts. Even without all this it probably doesnt matter. Its not a national sport in this country and never will be.

I used to get really peeved at the lack of coverage etc etc. Now I just go and watch the races I want to see and chill.

BRING BACK JOHN FARKING MCENROE

and Connors and Nastasi and Vilas and Cash and Becker.

There is no current one day fun ride organised through the dandenongs am i correct? Thats just crazy. You would get a great turnout for something like that.

IMHO the ATB is the stupidest route concept of all time....but its a raging success. So obviously I am wrong....

Do you remember when he used to come out and commentate a few years back? He was piss funny!!!!!

Yep. Best tennis commentator ever. Relaxed, smart, enjoyed himself and calls it like it is. I like Courier too but McEnroe is great.

Yeah Courier is good too in a 'McEnroe understudy' kind of way. McEnroe with his no bull****, piss funny post game interviews were priceless!!

are you still in with the "in" crowd, and get to hang out with the cool kids? :p

It was a pretty impressive name drop huh :)

I quite enjoyed Serena's match this morning...my what a big boned lass she is. Good thing she has the figure to go with it, or I'd be terrified of her.

She will have to work hard to maintain it after she retires or she will become the wrong sort of "big momma".

Very powerful player ... impressive to watch.

Your linky didn't work and you'd have to be living on a desert island not to get the big boned reference
http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/3269/ssp131re.gif

lol. I don't usually name drop but I thought I'd throw it in for a laugh. I don't know him at all and only met him very briefly at the race. He was there with Dave MacKenzie. Eds mate Matt Keenan was there breifly as well, though I don't know him personally, just know who he is. Dads mate knows Liggett really well and my parents know him vaguely from when they went to the 93 worlds and then later on through dads mate.

Ive had a 'thing' for serena williams for a long time :eek: :p :p :p :roflmao:

So, 2nds....you have a liking for small, submissive type women, hey?!:p :D

Is that the guy from "Off the Bike" on SEN? He said on Sunday night's show that someone emailed or SMS'd them to suggest that the caller "Dario Cippolini" be given a permanent spot on the show...I think Dario is one of thunder's (remember him?) nom-de-plumes

Thunder's just made a reappearance on CF - he posted something on testosterone in the Grand Tours subforum.

Thats him.

What was it ed said about thunder? Something about knowing pro racing like a 14 yo boy knows about ************.:D