This has been a tough one-two punch.
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Within the space of a fortnight, Ballarat has lost the Commonwealth Games and looks set to lose the biggest event on the city's events calendar for the summer, a fixture we have geared up to improve gender equality and create a Super Sunday billing beamed on to international screens.
The AusCycling Road National Championships have been locked in for one more year and while the sport's national body is not saying so, there are strong signs it wants to roll on to a new base.
This will be the 21st time in 23 years Ballarat has hosted the battles for green-and-gold. There was a two-year foray into South Australia in 2005 and 2006 but since then, this city has worked hard to earn the reputation as the home of Australian cycling.
Buninyong and Ballarat are the names Matt Keenan makes clear in his Tour de France commentary as the places where Australia's national champions fought hard to earn their stripes.
That all still feels in limbo.
To host a national cycling championships in the one location for so long is a rare feature on the global cycling scene.
In Australia it is typically hard to understand how big the appetite for cycling is in the northern hemisphere, particularly about Europe where they will stream events like our RoadNats, which offers more than 15 hours' live action from our streets.
In Europe, our national title contenders like Ben O'Connor and Simon Clarke are like rock stars. The Courier once spotted Richie Porte having coffee in Ballarat without getting so much as a sideways glance from passers-by.
Governments can talk tourism plans as much as they like. The coverage we can get from sport is more immense than many realise - until it is gone.
This is why the Commonwealth Games blow hurt so much last week. Ballarat was to have the jewel in the Games' crown, hosting the track and field program. This was boosted even more when we secured the marathon, a highly-regarded event that takes viewers out of the stadium and exploring a city's landmarks and streets.
Right now, our start to 2026 is looking incredibly stark but, in cycling at least, we are still in with a chance to fight for what we have truly earned.
To lose the RoadNats leaves us with a title that would become an empty home of cycling. Our cycling culture remains rich but what is being the home of Australian cycling when the major tenant moves out.
To lose the Commonwealth Games leave us with an expansion to our marquee sporting arena, with the state government making clear it would still add an extra 5000 permanent seats. This offers extra potential.
And the 'Doggies seem to like it.
Western Bulldogs will land on Mars this Saturday with a renewed enthusiasm to extend their contract beyond next year to keep a Ballarat kennel.
The Bulldogs' chief executive Ameet Bains told The Courier this week the club saw itself as the key driver to make sure Ballarat retains elite level sport into the future in light of the Commonwealth Games axing and our tenuous hold on RoadNats.
Ballarat, it is time to come out snarlin' to fight for our sporting reputation. The 'Doggies are just the kind of support we need right now.
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