Iddo 'Snowy' Munro, who was born in Warrnambool in 1888 and was one of the first Australians to contest the famous Tour de France, was inducted posthumously during the road nationals in Ballarat on Sunday, January 7, 2024.

Snowy's grandson Brent told The Standard it was worthy recognition for "a pioneer" of cycling.

His feats remain legendary.

Snowy defied roads filled with ruts, dirt and cobblestones and a bike without gears and heavy wheels to post the fastest time in the 1909 Melbourne to Warrnambool Cycling Classic - then raced in reverse across 266 kilometres - in a scintillating time of seven hours, 12 minutes and 51 seconds when it was a handicap race.

He embarrassed the railway authority, rolling into the city five minutes before the steam train.

It was a record which stood until 1931.

The diminutive Snowy - he would've made an ideal jockey according to his grandson - was just 21 at the time.

"He was just an amazing man. He would just keep on going and going and going until he got things right," Brent said.

"To beat the train, as the story goes, when he went through Werribee the train was on its normal time and he just decided 'I reckon I can beat it through to Melbourne' and that's what he did."

Brent said his grandfather, who along with Don Kirkham became the first Australians to compete in the Tour de France in 1914 after arriving in Europe via a months-long boat voyage, was a special character with a penchant for mechanics.

"He was one-of-kind. One of those people where nothing ever worried him and he would take the time to help you and explain things," he said.

"As a young boy I got a bike off him at Christmas time and I was probably about five or six years of age and I couldn't reach the pedals.

"I was pretty upset I couldn't reach the pedals because you've got a brand new bike so what he did, he fixed the pedals and put cork on them so I could push."

Brent was a teenager when Snowy died in October 1980, aged 92.

He has fond memories of his grandpa's feats and working with him in his garage.

"He used to send me up to a place called Andy Auto Wreckers up in Coburg and he'd get me to pick up wheels," Brent said.

"We'd draw the pattern on his garage floor in his garage at Coburg and that was the original patent and that wheel alignment would fit all vehicles.

"That design is still applicable to this day in doing alignments on different vehicles. Of course you've gone to electronics and laser now but it's still the same principle."

Snowy - born on Raglan Parade - was always trying to improve cycling.

"When he came back from Europe from the Tour de France, he did mention to the Australian wheelmen society that in Europe they have things called gears and brakes," Brent said.

"Back in those days it was fixed wheels. They said 'well what do you want us to do Snowy? and he said 'I'm just suggesting it would be a good idea to go gears'.

"They said that will never happen and now bikes have got many gears on them, they've got this brake and they've got that.

"He was a pioneer of bike riding, that's for sure."

The Tour de France is the pinnacle for cyclists across the world and nowadays televised and beamed into millions of households worldwide.

Brent said it was surreal to think his grandpa was part of the famous race's history.

Snowy finished 20^th and Don 13^th.

"They helped each other," he said of their 1914 race.

"When you are riding in those road races you have to feed off each other and that is what they did and they succeeded in finishing the race."