Explore Cadel Evans’s legacy at Geelong Sports Museum

WITH the five-day Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race cycling festival well underway, Geelong Sports Museum is offering local and visiting sports fans the opportunity to see the bike that started it all.

The museum houses the BMC TeamMachine Road Bike that Cadel Evans rode in the inaugural Great Ocean Road Race in 2015, his last professional race.

It is displayed alongside the yellow jersey that was presented to Evans on the Champs-Elysees in 2011 after his Tour de France win. He remains the only Australian to win the tour.

Geelong Sports Museum manager Jessica Reid said the museum, which opened in June last year, was honoured to have Evans be part of its first iteration, labelling his items a “unique piece of Australian sporting history”.

“It’s a really special bike and there’s lots of little tributes on the bike that are really personal to Cadel,” she said.

These tributes celebrate aspects of Evans’s life and include the cartoon character Tintin, First Nations artwork and the words ‘FOREVER GRATEFUL’ – a nod to the people who supported Evans throughout his career – while the bike’s ocean blue frame is itself a tribute to his home town of Barwon Heads.

The artefacts form part of the museum’s community collection, which celebrates the achievements and contributions of the region’s local sporting heroes.

“Lots of people are getting out there and joining in the road race and the People’s Ride and the professional ride themselves, and it’s a great opportunity, while there’s a lot of cycling buzz in town, to think about visiting the museum and seeing these objects in person,” Ms Reid said.

Beyond Evans’s items, Geelong Sports Museum features more than 80 historical artefacts spanning more than 30 sports.

“There’s something here for everybody. We say eight to 80, everybody’s going to find something that they connect with or are inspired by, whether you’re a sport lover or a history lover or just interested in the history of Geelong,” Ms Reid said.

“People are just so excited about having something like this in Geelong. There’s some really great storytelling through artefacts and storytelling about athletes and organisations, but we’re also a bit of fun.

“You can come and commentate a footy match or experience rolling down the Barwon River and take on the sports quiz. It’s quite interactive as well.”

Geelong Sports Museum is located on the ground floor of GMHBMA Stadium’s Joel Selwood Stand.

It is open Wednesday through Friday, from 10am to 4.30pm.

For more information, head to geelongsportsmuseum.vic.gov.au