Cadel Evans' Tour de France victory bicycle joins MCG's National Sports Museum

Dec 13, 2011

Australia’s first Tour de France champion, Cadel Evans, has confirmed he will place on long-term display in the MCG's National Sports Museum the iconic yellow victory bicycle he used on the final day of his famous win in Paris.

Evans was present at the announcement earlier this evening by MCG Trust chairman John Wylie at a black-tie function in the Long Room to mark the 150th anniversary of the formation of the MCG Trust.  

The bicycle, one of three used by Evans on the final day of Le Tour, is on long-term loan from Evans and the BMC Racing team. 

It will be on display in the National Sports Museum from December 14 for museum visitors to view as part of their general admission ticket.

Mr Wylie said Evans’ Tour de France triumph sits alongside the finest in Australia’s sporting history and that there could be no more appropriate place for the bicycle to reside than in our nation’s pre-eminent repository of sporting artefacts.

"Courage is a common thread in Australian sport, and it’s not confined to the MCG,” said Wylie.

“We marvelled at the sheer physicality and courage of Cadel’s pursuit of race leader Andy Schleck up the formidable Col du Galibier.

“But it wasn’t just Cadel’s win that made Australians as proud of him as we are,” Wylie said. “It was the way he achieved it and the values he displayed.  It was in the finest traditions of Australian sport.” 

National Sports Museum Limited chairman Paul Sheahan said the bicycle was a wonderful addition to the museum’s collection.

“This bicycle is now one of the icons of Australian sport and we are delighted that it will be on display for all to enjoy,” Sheahan said.

The MCG has a long association with cycling.  It hosted the Austral Wheel Race, the benchmark professional cycling race, in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. 

The National Sports Museum also houses the bicycle of Sir Hubert Opperman, the most famous name in Australian cycling – until now.

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