As much as Ballarat, its cycling community and savvy businesses built up AusCycling Road National Championships, for many it has always been hard to grasp the big deal in our streets.

World class, in our backyard and about to leave.

Elite professional athletes like Richie Porte have been able to have a coffee in Sturt Street largely unnoticed.

In Europe, the Tasmanian would be swamped like a rock star riding in teams with the likes of Alberto Contador, Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome.

Porte has claimed one green-and-gold in Buninyong, capturing the elite men's time trial jersey he wore the world over in 2015, such as his win in the prestigious Paris-Nice stage race.

There have been plenty of Grand Tour riders and stage winners glide into town, pretty much under the radar and with names largely unknown, hunting down the big win in Buninyong - the elite road race jersey.

While this has been a positive for many, the playing field we have built should never be underestimated or taken for granted.

But, for the final time - at least for now - Ballarat will host RoadNats.

World-class Australian cycling commentator Matt Keenan has long maintained the importance of the win in terms of the folklore Ballarat and Buninyong have created and stories he likes to share from our city when covering such elites on the biggest international stages.

Caleb Ewan is back to stake his claim.

We have seen Ewan consistently, smoothly carve up the Sturt Street criterium field like he was out for a casual Sunday morning ride.

Ewan claimed the title outside the Town Hall for three consecutive years, 2016-18, before gearing up on the international scene with multiple stage wins in Grand Tours. This included five in each the Giro D'Italia (one in 2017) and five in Tour de France.

He has been close but has yet to win a Buninyong road title.

In saying that, 2011 Tour de France winner Cadel Evans was unable to achieve this feat either. Evans was in the mix with the likes of Porte but out-sprinted by New South Welshman Heinrich Haussler on Warrenheip Street.

We have seen hometown professional cyclist Pat Shaw in action up close orchestrating his team amid the elites as a domestique, the largely selfless role in setting others up for glory.

And we have seen Ballarat's Damien Turner become king on the podium, out-climbing the elites with full respect to their game on his streets.

Songs on the radio were dedicated to Turner's back-to-back polka dot jersey wins as King of the Mountain in the early days of the nationals when many would give up after a couple of turns up the Mount Buninyong climb.

"I was confident - I knew 100 per cent I could do it. I respect the opposition because they are professional and how they ride," Turner told The Courier on reflection in 2016. "Fear them? No. I was certainly not afraid of them or the course and went to get out there and have a go."

Crowds were big at the summit then and continued to grow.

The lingering pandemic has undoubtedly been telling but at the same time, the elite women's field continues to strengthen.

Federation University student Nicole Frain won her 2022 green and gold jersey on the back of a gruelling inaugural women's Paris Roubaix (best known for its cobblestones) and ahead of the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes.

In a chicken-and-egg scenario with female riders trying to justify greater prizemoney and visibility, Ballarat had already been offering Super Sunday double billing in Buninyong for more than a decade.

We can rue what we will soon be missing, or we can get out on course in Buninyong for one epic send off riders will not forget.