Gerro’s Guide to the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships

As a stage winner of the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana, Simon Gerrans has seen a lot of spectacular scenery on two wheels.   

But none of it, he says, compares to the splendour of Victoria’s Surf Coast, which will host the 2025 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships in October.

The region and its surrounds are home to some of Australia’s greatest cycling champions. The nation’s first and only Tour de France winner Cadel Evans relocated to Barwon Heads with his family at the beginning of this year, shortly after Gerrans moved from Melbourne to Geelong, which is also the birthplace of Tokyo Olympic team pursuit bronze medallist Leigh Howard.

“As far as backdrops go, the morning rides along the coastline particularly from where Cadel is down in Barwon Heads, to ride along Thirteenth Beach there on sunrise there’s no prettier place anywhere. Like, it’s spectacular,” Gerrans says.

“You don’t have the high mountains or the spectacular descents that you do riding around the south of France, but the roads are nice and quiet, the traffic is really accommodating, and the riding along the coastline there is the prettiest you’ll find anywhere.”

The retired racer turned commentator made the move with his family after buying bike shop business Hendry’s. Through that he’s become immersed in the local cycling community, which is no stranger to major events. Geelong hosted the 2010 UCI Road World Championships where elite racers including Thor Hushovd, Fabian Cancellara, Giorgia Bronzini, Emma Pooley, Australia’s own Michael Matthews, and American Taylor Phinney triumphed.

“From a riding perspective, you really have a fantastic choice of rides down here to do – whether that be road, gravel, or mountain-biking,” Gerrans says.

“You don’t have the long climbs of the Victorian Alps, but you have some great rolling hills and the best thing about riding down here is actually the riding community. I’ve been super impressed with how inclusive they are.

“It can be fairly open and exposed along the coastline in places, and as you head down towards the Otways, where the Gran Fondo is, you get some longer climbs as well. So down there you have the luxury of choice, you have a bit of everything. As you near Geelong, the roads are more rolling than mountainous.”

The 2025 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships in Lorne – a coastal town 70km south-west of Geelong - this year will see the best amateur cyclists in the world compete in age categories for the sport’s coveted rainbow jersey. Riders who finish in the top 25 per cent of their age group in qualification races that comprise the UCI Gran Fondo World Series are eligible to register. Over 800 people had already entered before Japan’s Niseko Classic and Malaysia’s Pekan Classics earlier this month. In 2023 more than 100 Aussies competed at the titles in Scotland, with John Horsburgh claiming a silver medal in the men’s 75-79 age category.

Gerrans has some simple advice for those competing at the Lorne event, which kicks off with a 23km time trial on October 16, features a team relay in Geelong on October 17, and concludes with a 131km road race in and around Lorne on October 19.

Be prepared.

“They’re really honest courses. The road race you’ve got to be able to go hard right from the start because there will be a selection made basically from kilometre zero. If you’re not a strong climber there is a point to be able to fight to try and get your way back into the race, but the intensity is going to be on right from the very beginning. There’s climbs towards the start, towards the back end of the course, and finishing along the Great Ocean Road into Lorne is going to be a great way to round out the race,” Gerrans continues.

“Then for the time trial, you probably won’t find a more scenic and technical time trial anywhere. Starting and finishing in Lorne and going to the gates of the Great Ocean Road and back, it’s going to be incredibly beautiful to race, but there’s barely a flat kilometre in there and your longest straight stretch of road may be just a few hundred metres long.

“I don’t think you’ll find a more technical time trial anywhere, so what’s going to be really important to be competitive is you have spent a lot of time on your time trial bike on the road, and you’re really confident in descending, in cornering, in climbing.”

Cyclists who don’t qualify, or those who just want the unique experience of riding along the iconic Great Ocean Road, which will be closed to traffic, can register for Amy’s Great Ocean Road Gran Fondo, which coincides with the road race world championships on October 19.

Gerrans laughs when asked if e-bikes are available for hire at Hendry’s.

“We have electric bikes you can hire but I’m not sure they’ll let you in the race on an electric bike,” he says.

That is the case for the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships, but Amy’s Great Ocean Road Gran Fondo permits the use of them in the recreational category.

“Funnily enough we’re already having people book their bikes in [for services]. And we’ve had some internationals hire bikes for the event already,” Gerrans continues.

“For anybody travelling either interstate or international we’ll have the workshop open to do bike builds and pack-up bikes for people coming in and out as well.

“If you’re new to the area, new to town, call in, we can tell you about the local rides, you can join one of our shop rides. We’ve got a number of people who work in the business who are actively involved in the event for some valuable insight. We have all the spares and nutrition available in store to save you travelling with these items.”

Photos: @muzzmedia and Nadine O'Connor.