A decision on the last great hope for Ballarat's summer of events will be made by the end of the month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Cycling Australia Road National Championships, or RoadNats, attracts Australia's best cyclists to the city at the start of January each year, as well as tens of thousands of spectators and crewmembers.
In recent years, it's grown to a four-day festival of cycling, including time trials, a criterium sprint race up and down Sturt Street in prime-time, and the famous Mount Buninyong road race.
The event lights up the city in the week after Christmas and New Year's Eve, providing a welcome hit to the city's accommodation and tourism providers, and has returned to Ballarat every year since 2002, except for the 2006 event, held in South Australia.
DO YOU WANT THE ROADNATS HERE IN 2021? LET US KNOW AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ARTICLE
Last year, the time trial course moved to Federation University, while the Sturt Street race was a challenge, with rain creating a horrifically slippery corner at Lydiard Street - for the first time, the elite women's race was given the honour of closing the day.
The City of Ballarat signed another three-year contract with Cycling Australia in January to continuing holding the event in the city, with additional categories promised for 2021.
It's understood Cycling Australia is still working with key event stakeholders and the state government, with an announcement on the 2021 event expected at the end of October.
There is continued speculation regarding the UCI Gran Fondo qualifier event - a race open to all competitiors where the top finishers will qualify for an international event - which is expected to be held in early February, pending state government approval.
READ MORE: Ballarat to host UCI Gran Fondo in 2021
The UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) website still has Ballarat marked for an event on February 4 to 6, though it was previously reported these dates were incorrect.
It was announced in September the 2025 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships will be held in "regional Victoria", but an exact location has not yet been determined.
DO YOU WANT THE ROADNATS HERE IN 2021? LET US KNOW BELOW
