Scody Cup Cycling Series Tour of Gippsland - NE

Australia, July 30-August 3, 2008

Aspiring stars face off in Gippsland

A 91-man field will tackle the 570km eight-stage tour of Gippsland which will showcase some of the best young talent in Australian cycling.

West Australians Travis Meyer and Benjamin King, Victorians Leigh Howard, Glenn O'Shea and William Ford, Tasmanian Bernard Sulzberger, South Australian Tim Roe, Queenslander David Kemp, and Luke Davison, of New South Wales, are aspiring professionals, who will use the Gippsland race as part of their long-term build-up to international prominence.

Fifteen teams from all Australian states will contest the tour which will start with a 42 km waterfront criterium in Mallacoota on Wednesday, July 30, and finish with another 44 km street race in Paynesville on Sunday, August 3.

The spectacular course, mostly in the East Gippsland Shire, will test riders’ all-round ability and courage, with tough mountain stages around Buchan, Dargo and Omeo providing additional challenges.

The fourth annual Tour of Gippsland, which will feature in an SBS television documentary on Sunday, August 31, is the first of five events on Cycling Australia's inaugural national teams competition.

The tour is also the opening event of the 2008 Scody Cup [formally the Tattersall's Cup], introduced in 1996 and now firmly established as Australia's premier road cycling series and a breeding ground for future stars.