The decision to hold the 2022 UCI World Road Cycling Championships in Wollongong was a "pretty brave" one made by the sport's world governing body, according to former Australian professional cyclist Stephen Hodge.
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But Hodge, now a prominent cycling advocate, believes the decision should pay dividends for NSW's third largest city if contentious issues such as road closures and restricted public access are managed well for the eight-day event that starts on Sunday with the women's and men's elite time trials.
Hodge, who raced as a European based professional rider from 1987 to 1996, is a director at We Ride Australia in Canberra that lobbies for the greater awareness of cycling's benefits and the need for improved cycling conditions and infrastructure.
In that capacity, he will attend the 2022 world titles from next Wednesday to Sunday, the last day of racing.
On Wollongong's selection as the host city for world titles, Hodge said: "It is pretty brave to hold them in Wollongong.
"'Wollongong is in a constrained urban environment ... between the sea on one side and the escarpment on the other. Access to it and [traffic] management is a challenge. It will be interesting to see how these championships go."
However, Hodge, who was on the Melbourne-Geelong UCI World Road Championship council in 2010 when the event was last held in Australia, said the Wollongong region should reap terrific rewards from the 2022 world championships.
Hodge understands local concerns over the inconvenience of the championships due to issues like road closures.
But he said they are similar to those expressed before the Geelong world titles that were eventually a great success.
Hodge added that it helps "the big focus now is on the legacy of a world championships, on a variety of public good outcomes."
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But Hodge cited as key spin off gains: Cycling's benefit for physical and mental health; the introduction of "suburban and town initiatives for bike ways and separated lanes;" the global exposure for Wollongong as a tourism destination and the financial gain from that; and an opportunity for Wollongong to strongly position itself as "a part of the big boost" that cycling has become for the Australian economy.
Hodge said the We Ride Australian Cycling Economy Report spearheaded by We Ride Australia and released last October found cycling's direct industry contribution in 2020 to the Australian economy was $6.3 billion with the net value being $3.4 billion to the GDP, including support for 34,295 jobs.
Of course, the success of any world championship is not just dependent on the engagement of the host city and its local population, but also that of visiting riders, team staff, race officials, sponsors and media from interstate or overseas.
Hodge has first-hand experience in that. He raced in 14 three-week grand tours - including six Tours de France - and eight world road titles after turning professional in 1987 with his best result being eighth in 1991 at Stuttgart, Germany.
He said the immediate focus of riders arriving in Australia from racing in Europe or elsewhere around the world up until last weekend would be on their recovery.
But as they find their groove, he said they will feed off a positive ambience.
"The world championships in Australia are already not ordinary for the Europeans," Hodge said. "So, they will be wondering about how it [the long-haul flight] will affect them, if their jet lag will play a part in their performance.
"They will be super focused on recovering and getting out on the road as soon as possible and back into a nice routine. We have already seen on social media that they are doing that."
Hodge said it was unlikely riders would leave their arrival to Wollongong too late, as he made the mistake of doing in 1986 at Colorado Springs for his last world championships as an amateur cyclist.
He arrived "two to three days" before racing.
"I didn't allow time to get through the adaptation to altitude," Hodge said. "I remember early on feeling, 'how quick' I was - 'how fast' - in the thin air. I followed an attack, thinking, 'I am flying.' All of a sudden I ran out of oxygen."
As for who will win at the 2022 world titles? Hodge points to form, adding that those who have been winning or have been in the fray, should be right up there at Wollongong.
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