You've got to give it to Wollongong. It truly knows how to shine when it needs to.
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After months of rain and just plain ordinary weather, the Illawarra turned on the blue skies, and the warmer temperatures as the starting gun went off on the week-long cycling spectacular. Even the winds were calm at the crucial moments.
Over 2,500 people rode the UCI Road World Championships course on Saturday as part of the community event. It was well organised, and great to see so many bikes of many shapes and sizes on the course.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for people to ride through a car-free city centre, and it was extra special doing it with the race hoardings set up, donned with sponsors' names and commentary at the finish line.
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Readers of the Illawarra Mercury on social media have said it was so special it should be a once-a-year event to raise money for charity. That could be the perfect legacy for a bike city.
Anyone who attended the community cycle, the Festival of Sport next door at the Illawarra Sports Stadium or the Spin Fest Beach Party at North Wollongong would have noticed how smooth things went. No crowds, no queues, no hassle.
It didn't feel like Wollongong at New Year or Wollongong on Australia Day. It felt like a Wollongong transported to a city like Haarlem (think Amsterdam but more quaint) or Montreal.
Perhaps many had decided to stay home and avoid the traffic, but maybe by having a pedestrianised city centre, Wollongong managed to recreate a European feel to events.
Walking around the city, you can't help but notice the accents. French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch and German. Wollongong is a city built on immigration and has embraced our visitors as family.
But still, it was excellent to watch Australian team member Grace Brown power her way up Dumfries Avenue to come in on her Time Trial at 44:41.33 to take the silver medal for the Women's Elite race during the first day of racing.
We hope that the start of many wins for our Australian athletes over the next week but even if we miss out on the podium we'll still be cheering at the sidelines.
Gayle Tomlinson
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