I was extremely pleased night to launch one of Tasmania’s top sporting events last night – the 2015 Launceston Cycling Festival.
Run in December, the festival will once again showcase Tasmania’s outstanding natural beauty as participants race their way through road, track and charity cycling events.
Among the festival’s many races are two headline events, the Stan Siejka Classic and Sally’s Ride.
The Stan Siejka Classic is one of Australia’s premier cycling events, incorporating Australia’s most iconic Criterium.
The Hodgman Liberal Government, through Events Tasmania, last year provided a three-year funding grant of $75,000 to assist with a substantial international relaunch of the event in 2014, with the aim of attracting international name riders to the Stan Siejka Classic.
As a result, the 2014 event secured the participation of TeamSky duo, 2013 Tour de France winner Chris Froome and Tasmania’s own Richie Porte. A documentary, The Climb Starts Here, was made chronicling the participation of Froome and Porte in the 2014 Stan Siejka Classic and aired around the country earlier this month as a lead-up to the national broadcast of the 2015 Tour de France.
The other headline event, Sally’s Ride, started in 2002 when Sally Fletcher rode solo around Tasmania to raise funds for mental health. In 2009, the project was expanded to a community bike ride through the Tamar Valley.
Sally’s Ride now consists of five rides of varying lengths for individual cyclists that commence in Launceston and travel through the Tamar Valley, as well as a corporate team challenge. The annual event is targeted towards professional and recreational bike riders, and aims to draw awareness of the importance of mental health issues within the Tasmanian community.
Sally’s Ride raises important funds for youth suicide prevention programs, which in previous years, has included Resilient Youth Australia and CORES Australia.
The uniqueness of this Festival is that it engages so many people; from social cyclists to world class athletes in addition to large crowds of spectators.
I would also like to acknowledge and thank the hundreds of volunteers who dedicate many, many hours to ensure the success of the Festival. It is a weekend that is always marked in my diary and I look forward to again participating in Sally’s Ride and enjoying the excitement of watching the SS.
The Launceston Cycling Festival is on during the weekend of December 5th and 6th.
Sarah Courtney, Liberal Member for Bass
