THE 104th edition of the Melbourne to Warrnambool Cycling Classic will be in safe hands after Australian cycling legend Agostino Giramondo accepted the role as race director.
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Giramondo, 60, is no stranger to the classic having a rich personal history with Australia's oldest one-day race.
"I'm looking forward to the opportunity to work on such an iconic race from a different angle," the Brunswick Cycling Club product said.
"The Warrnambool has always been a special event in our family as my father won it twice back in the '70s and I rode 14 Warrnambools and then came back as a sport director (of Drapac Cycling) to win another three.
"So working on it as race director gives me a new perspective."
Giramondo, who spent 14 years as Director Sportif with Drapac Cycling, is eager to ensure his first 'Warrny' goes off without a hitch when the race departs from Avalon on February 15.
"Working with the organising side of things will be new to me but looking forward to the challenge and making sure the race runs well without any major incidents," he said.
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Giramondo represented Australia on the road at the 1990 world championships.
He owned and ran Giramondo Cycles for 20 years, while Giramondo Sportswear has been a family business since 1958 started by his late father Mario and his mum Maria, who still works there on a daily basis.
In 2006 he joined one of Australia's most successful professional cycling teams - Drapac Cycling.
The Melbourne to Warrnambool is supported by two new races in 2020 with the inaugural Port Campbell to Warrnambool Handicap and the Warrnambool Criterium creating a weekend of top cycling in the south-west.
Giramondo will also be race director for the exciting 1.6-kilometre criterium alongside Warrnambool's Stingray Bay on Sunday.
"The addition of these new races to the Warrny weekend is a great initiative by the Warrnambool Citizens Road Race Committee and event director Karin Jones," he said.
"I think it has the potential to grow into a real festival of cycling and I will be working to ensure we have the highest quality of racing for the Warrnambool Criterium as well as the Powercor Melbourne to Warrnambool."
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Sean Hardeman
I'm a sports journalist for the Warrnambool Standard who covers a number of different sports across the south-west of Victoria. I enjoy watching cycling, surfing, football, soccer and Formula 1.
I'm a sports journalist for the Warrnambool Standard who covers a number of different sports across the south-west of Victoria. I enjoy watching cycling, surfing, football, soccer and Formula 1.
