2022 UCI World Championships – Wollongong

Arrive today in Sydney and make your own way to our beachfront accommodation in Cronulla. If you arrive by plane, Cronulla is a short taxi trip from the airport. If you’re driving to Cronulla, you can securely park your car and we will return you to your vehicle at the end of our trip. We will have the first two nights in Cronulla, exploring the Royal Sydney National Park and enjoying a welcome dinner together, before we head south to our South Coast accommodation.

Our accommodation for the first two nights gives great access to enjoy a swim in one of Australia’s most popular surf destinations. Locals swim all year round and when the ocean is too wild, the Beach Rock Pool provides a protected area to swim.

Tonight we will enjoy dinner at a local restaurant, including wine.

We have a scenic day exploring the Royal National Park, just south of Sydney today. We don’t have time pressures on us, so we will take time to explore the preserved bushland and poke our way into the hidden waterfalls, lookouts, and coves. We are so blessed in Australia to have an extensive and well-preserved habitat so close to our biggest city. Not only is this a wonderful natural asset, but it is also a great place to ride your bike or hike. Of course, we can cover much more ground on our bikes.

We will pause at a couple of the beaches, so we can cool off the legs. We will visit Garie Beach, where a small Surf Life Saving Club has been keeping visitors safe since 1938. The easily identifiable red and yellow colours of Australia’s volunteer lifeguards patrol the many, many beaches. Those in the Royal National Park are popular surf beaches, and being rugged can have variable conditions. Lifeguards here go the extra mile due to their isolation.

Also on our itinerary through the Royal National Park is Wattamolla Beach. The beautiful lagoon, scenic waterfall, picnic area and secluded beach will make the perfect location for us to enjoy a picnic lunch and a swim – you may finish your ride here and catch a lift home. We will shortcut home, and sneak through the small village of Bundeena where we will take the ferry. The Curranulla Ferry is the oldest running ferry to a timetable in Australia. It has been in operation since 1939.

Tonight, you are welcome to find a local restaurant in Cronulla, a twilight walk along the coastal walk is a lovely way to work up an appetite or walk off an oversized portion.

Today is the Team Time Trial – Mixed Relay event. The Olympic Games has introduced a number of mixed events recently and allows us to appreciate the efforts that sport is making to close the equality gap. Bikestyle Tours is hosting a trip to the return of the Female Tour de France in 2022. We are committed to opportunities of following the professional women’s races, and in recent times these races have provided the most drama. There is no argument to state that women from the Netherlands dominate the sport at the moment. However, on home soil, the Australians will be in for a fight.

The exciting city circuit for the mixed relay will be exciting to watch, and being a Team Time Trial there will be drama. The format of the race is that the female riders launch off the starter’s ramp once the third male in their men’s team crosses the finish line. The fastest combined time wins. Keeping the slipstream on a tight city circuit will reward those that have trained on the circuit.

We will ride from our hotel this morning, and those wanting something a little shorter can start from Helensburgh. Our scenic part of today’s ride is over the Sea Cliff Bridge, a cantilever bridge that snakes around the sandstone cliffs. After playing tourist, we will continue to follow the World Championships Road Course to Wollongong for lunch, and the afternoon watching the Mixed Relay.

We will then travel to our private residence further south, where nature and modern conveniences will welcome us. When we arrive, pass your bike over to our professional mechanic, who will have it washed and serviced for you – ready for some great local riding from our base. Your cycling clothes can be dropped into our laundry area, and our staff will have them washed for you ready to go again. Having sorted out the cleaning tasks, take a shower and relax for the afternoon.

Tonight we will enjoy a lovingly prepared meal from our local caterer – who prefers to grow her own ingredients and source as much local produce as possible. It will be a seasonal meal of course. We will also have a grazing platter and some beverages to accompany our food throughout the afternoon and evening.

It is a training day for the professionals in Wollongong. It will be a chance for them to get a feel for each section of the course and prepare their race plans. Although an individual wins a race, it is very much a team sport – so the national teams will also be planning their strategies for taking a rainbow jersey home for their country. We’ll use today as an opportunity to explore the coast in the morning and hopefully spot a migrating whale in the Pacific Ocean.

We will pause for lunch and return to our accommodation for the afternoon where we will sample some wine from a local winery. You may also like to take the opportunity of going for a dip in the ocean at Seven Mile Beach – perhaps you may just like to walk along the beach. We’ll have different activities available to you this afternoon at our accommodation, and again you can drop your cycling gear off at our laundry and have your bike washed ready for some climbing tomorrow.

Tonight we will prepare dinner at our accommodation, with some beautiful salads and locally made sourdough. Another relaxing evening socialising, solving the problems of the world, or just meeting people with whom you share an interest.

Today’s races at the 2022 UCI World Championships are the Road Races for Juniors and U23 male categories. Record the names of the riders you see today, as they follow in the footsteps of those before them. Previous Junior road race winners include Roman Kreuziger, Matthieu van de Poel, Remco Evenepoel, and Matej Mohoric. Caleb Ewan came second in 2012 as a Junior and followed it up with another silver in the U23 division 2 years later. Do these names sound familiar?

For the U23 road race, a strong result can lead to a neo-pro contract for the 2023 season. The last time the U23 UCI World Championship Road Race was in Australia (Geelong, 2010), it was won by an Australian by the name of Michael Matthews. Will an Aussie win on home soil again?

Today’s road races stay on the main circuit close to the CBD, so we can have a look around at different aspects of the course. The elite categories, however, also ride around the Mount Keira loop, which elevates to nearly 500m above sea level. The 6.5km climb averages over 6% with some steep pinches above 10%. Our ride today will give you the opportunity to ride the 34km Mount Keira loop, a day before the women battle.

Tonight we will return to our accommodation and fuel up on another catered feast from our local producers.

Today is the Women’s Road Race, both for the Junior and the Elite. We’ll take one of the most scenic routes to reach Wollongong today. It will involve some climbing, but it is a ‘brown-sign’ tourist drive. We head west through Berry and onto Kangaroo Valley. Throughout today we will stop in at welcoming country towns, with boutique shops, famous bakeries, and provide any food that satisfies the soul. Between each town is spectacular scenery, with rainforests, waterfalls, eucalypt forests and impressive cliffs.

We will cross the Hampden Bridge near Kangaroo Valley. It is a single-span suspension bridge built in the 19th century and is in the New South Wales State Heritage Registry. As we climb Moss Vale Road, the air will get cooler, but also crisper. We reach the Southern Highlands, and deep gorges are prolific through the area. Scattered throughout are high waterfalls that feed the ravines that shape the landscape. We’ll stop off at some of the significant viewing platforms to see the waterfalls.

It is then down into the Wollongong for the Women’s Road Races. Being a circuit race, you will see the bunch get progressively smaller and a perfectly timed attack may result in a breakaway victory. But, as history shows victory solo victories are difficult and a chase group can spoil the party for the most combative rider.

Today is the Men’s Road Race, victory today is one of the most coveted awards for any cyclist. The winner has the honour of wearing the rainbow jersey for road races until the next championships, and they may adorn special rainbow bands on the sleeves of their team jersey for the remainder of their career. We will head to Wollongong later this morning after breakfast and a short ride around Berry.

The World Championships circuit race is always animated, and if 2021 was anything to go by – attacks can start as far as 200km from the finish. It is a race of attrition and the challenging Mount Keira and Mount Pleasant loops will tighten the screw on riders each lap that they draw closer to the finish. We will witness the medal presentations as the rainbow jersey is awarded to the 2022 UCI World Road Race champion and head back to our accommodation for a final dinner together.

After breakfast this morning, we will transfer guests to Sydney.

If you are flying out today or staying on in Sydney, we will make a single transfer to Sydney Airport. We will arrive around lunchtime, so book your departure flight after 2 pm to be sure.

For those who have left their vehicle in Cronulla, we will drop you off to collect your vehicle.

Although we say farewell today, it is customary that we welcome our guests and those who travel again with us are eligible for a loyalty discount on your future trips with Bikestyle Tours. Now that you have seen the professionals race in Down Under, join us in Europe for a Grand Tour experience in 2023, or maybe for the return of the Santos Tour Down Under in January.