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Local stars to step up for cycling events

Roger VaughanAAP
Richie Porte is one of the big names returning home to compete in a number of races in early 2022.
Camera IconRichie Porte is one of the big names returning home to compete in a number of races in early 2022. Credit: AAP

An impressive line-up of local talent featuring Richie Porte and Grace Brown will fill some of the international void next month for Australian cycling.

The ongoing impact of COVID-19 means that Australian cycling's two biggest annual road events, the Tour Down Under and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road race, have been cancelled for the second successive year.

It was too hard for international riders to make it to Australia for the events.

But Victoria's Lexus of Blackburn Bay Classic Criterium series will return after a year off on January 8-9.

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The national road championships will follow in Ballarat and Buninyong from January 12-16.

In place of the Tour Down Under, Adelaide will then host the Santos Festival of Cycling from January 21-29.

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The centrepiece of the festival will be the men's and women's road tours, where Porte and Brown will be headline riders.

Brown finished fourth in the women's road time trial at the Tokyo Olympics, missing out on the bronze by only seven seconds.

After three years racing for top Australian team BikeExchange-Jayco, she has signed a two-year deal with French squad FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope.

"I'm going to want to have some good races to start off in my new colours, so hopefully I will have some success here," Brown said at Tuesday's Bay Classic launch in Geelong.

Tokyo Olympics road time trial bronze medallist Rohan Dennis and fellow stars Luke Durbridge and Cameron Meyer will also race the men's tour in Adelaide.

Another key name will be Luke Plapp, who will feature across all three events next month.

He won a bronze medal in the ill-fated team pursuit, where Alex Porter's snapped handlebar robbed the Australians any hope of gold.

"It was a very interesting and different experience," Plapp said of Tokyo and its strict pandemic measures.

"It does keep the fire in the belly, to want to go to Paris and really experience the Games as a celebration, but also get that (team pursuit) gold medal.

Plapp, 21, has also signed with top World Tour team Ineos Grenadiers, where Porte will be one of his teammates.

A few weeks after his Olympic medal, Plapp won silver in the under-23 time trial at the world road championships.

He was part of the team, formed from the Australian track endurance squad, that helped Sam Welsford win the 2020 Bay Classic title.

"It was pretty awesome and it's a great stepping stone for the rest of the year as well," he said.

"We were able to take a lot of momentum from the race in 2020 and we were building quite nicely to the Games, but it ended up being postponed.

"We're bringing a good team, so let's hope we can get the win. We've got the track team again."

The shortened Bay Classic will be held over two days on Geelong's Eastern Beach circuit.

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