# Austral Wheel Race

Austral Wheel Race :
| General ||
| Established | 1887 |
| Held | December |
| Country | Australia |
| Region | Victoria |
| Type | Handicap race over 2000 m |
| Data ||
| Editions | 124 |
| First Winner | H. Lambton, Australia |
| Most Recent | Graeme Frislie, Australia and Georgia Baker, Australia |
| Most Wins | Stephen Pate, Australia, (4) |
The Austral Wheel Race is the oldest track bicycle race in the world still existing, stretching back to 1887. It is owned and run by AusCycling Victoria. The Austral race is Australia’s greatest track cycling event. It is held in Melbourne, riders assigned handicaps according to ability over a series of heats. The finals are run over 2000m.
The races in 2004 and 2005 were at John Cain Arena in February. The first race in 1887 held at Melbourne Cricket Ground over 3 miles (4800m), with first prize of a grand piano valued at 200 pounds. Other venues in Melbourne to host the race include the Exhibition Track, the North Essendon board track, the Olympic Park Velodrome and the Brunswick, Coburg and Northcote velodromes.
Malvern Star, a brand in bicycles in Australia, had its origins in the race. In December 1898 a young bicycle mechanic and professional cyclist, Tom Finnigan, won from a handicap of 220 yards (200 m) holding off backmarkers with a foot to spare. The prize of 240 sovereigns let him establish a suburban bicycle shop, Malvern Star Cycles, which became a household name under Bruce Small.
Corruption tinged the event in 1901 when the American, Bill Martin, won from scratch, to allegations of fixing by John Wren. According to The Age in 1903 referring to 1902 "one of the judges appointed to officiate at the Austral Wheel meeting was called upon to resign, because he had a monetary interest in the result of the Austral Wheel Race."
In December 2023 Graeme Frislie won from scratch in record time of 1min 55.03 sec, an average of 62.59 km/h at DISC.

## Prize money

Prize money has varied, following the fashion for cycling, from a grand piano to monetary prizes of 240 sovereigns in 1898, 450 sovereigns in 1902, to a low of $1500 during the 1970s, increasing to $5,000 in 1982, and now exceeding $18,000 since 2000.

## Past winners

Past competitors include distinguished Australian and international cyclists, including Jackie Clark, Gordon Johnson, Steele Bishop, Sid Patterson, Russell Mockridge, Danny Clarke, Brett Aitken, Gary Neiwand and Shane Kelly.
The record for the most wins belongs to Victorian Stephen Pate with four victories: in 1988 from scratch, in 1991 from minus 10m, in 1993 from minus 20m and 1999 from scratch.
In 2000, Neiwand was handicapped on 70m for the millennium edition and won comfortably.
Austral Wheel Race Winners :
| | Year | Venue | Men's Winner | Handicap | Women's Winner | Handicap |
| 1 | 1887 | MCG | Harry H. Lambton | 210 yd (190 m) |
| 2 | 1888 | MCG | Dick Davis | Scr |
| 3 | 1889 | MCG | Jimmy Mullins | 140 yd (130 m) |
| 4 | 1890 | MCG | Tom Busst | Scr. |
| 5 | 1891 | MCG | Arthur Turner | 240 yd (220 m) |
| 6 | 1892 | MCG | Harry H. Lambton | 200 yd (180 m) |
| 7 | 1893 | MCG | Gordon Woodward | 270 yd (250 m) |
| 8 | 1894 | MCG | Alf Middleton | 180 yd (160 m) |
| 9 | 1895 | MCG | A. Crisp | 250 yd (230 m) |
| 10 | 1896 | MCG | Charles Kellow | 15 yd (14 m) |
| 11 | 1897 | MCG | Jim Carpenter | 85 yd (78 m) |
| 12 | 1898 | MCG | Tom Finnigan | 220 yd (200 m) |
| 13 | 1899 | MCG | Frank Beauchamp | 150 yd (140 m) |
| 14 | 1900 | MCG | Charles Forbes | 30 yd (27 m) |
| 15 | 1901 | MCG | Bill Martin | Scr |
| 16 | 1902 | MCG | Fred (Murray) Auger | 240 yd (220 m) |
| 17 | 1903 | MCG | Fred Scheps | 160 yd (150 m) |
| 18 | 1904 | EXA | A J "Jackie" Clark | 150 yd (140 m) |
| 19 | 1905 | EXA | J. Sandberg | 170 yd (160 m) |
| 20 | 1906 | EXA | Harry Thomas | 20 yd (18 m) |
| 21 | 1907 | MCG | A.C. Colvin | 150 yd (140 m) |
| 22 | 1908 | MCG | M. McPherson | 280 yd (260 m) |
| 23 | 1909 | MCG | Albert H. Pianta | 210 yd (190 m) |
| 24 | 1910 | MCG | Frank Corry | 140 yd (130 m) |
| 25 | 1912 | EXI | W. Priestly | 60 yd (55 m) |
| 26 | 1913 | EXI | P.B. Henry | 60 yd (55 m) |
| 27 | 1920 | EXA | Ern. Tamme | 50 yd (46 m) |
| 28 | 1921 | EXA | Lou Clifford | 120 yd (110 m) |
| 29 | 1922 | EXA | Jack Fitzgerald | Scr |
| 30 | 1923 | EXA | Dick Ford | 120 yd (110 m) |
| 31 | 1923 | MD | Pidge Davis | 200 yd (180 m) |
| 32 | 1925 | MD | Frank Corry | 140 yd (130 m) |
| 33 | 1925 | EXA | Eric Giboud | 60 yd (55 m) |
| 34 | 1927 | EXA | Bowie Stevens | 70 yd (64 m) |
| 35 | 1927 | MD | Cecil Hannerman | 160 yd (150 m) |
| 36 | 1927 | MD | Cecil Manners | 245 yd (224 m) |
| 37 | 1929 | MD | Richard “Fatty” Lamb | 30 yd (27 m) |
| 38 | 1936 | MD | Keith Thurgood | 100 yd (91 m) |
| 39 | 1936 | EXB | Harry Webb | 70 yd (64 m) |
| 40 | 1937 | EXB | Jack Gardiner | 205 yd (187 m) |
| 41 | 1938 | EXB | Jack Middleton | 120 yd (110 m) |
| 42 | 1939 | NE | Clinton Beasley | 90 yd (82 m) |
| 43 | 1940 | NE | Norm Stevens | 20 yd (18 m) |
| 44 | 1941 | NE | Ken Stewart | 60 yd (55 m) |
| 45 | 1942 | NE | Mick Bradley | 160 yd (150 m) |
| 46 | 1944 | NE | Norm Munro | 90 yd (82 m) |
| 47 | 1944 | NE | Tas Johnson | 30 yd (27 m) |
| 48 | 1945 | NE | Tom Shillito | 160 yd (150 m) |
| 49 | 1946 | NE | Pat Devine | 120 yd (110 m) |
| 50 | 1947 | NE | George Bull | 130 yd (120 m) |
| 51 | 1948 | NE | Bill Kirkham | 120 yd (110 m) |
| 52 | 1950 | NE | Byron Bonney | 120 yd (110 m) |
| 53 | 1951 | NE | Kevin Marion | 105 yd (96 m) |
| 54 | 1952 | NE | Doug Jennings | 120 yd (110 m) |
| 55 | 1953 | NE | Tom Fitzgerald | 140 yd (130 m) |
| 56 | 1954 | NE | Alan Geddes | 130 yd (120 m) |
| 57 | 1955 | NE | Ron Murray | 100 yd (91 m) |
| 58 | 1956 | NE | Don Meharg | 130 yd (120 m) |
| 59 | 1957 | NE | John Robertson | 100 yd (91 m) |
| 60 | 1958 | OP | Neil Geraghty | 100 yd (91 m) |
| 61 | 1959 | OP | Vin Beasley | 100 yd (91 m) |
| 62 | 1960 | OP | David Good | 100 yd (91 m) |
| 63 | 1961 | OP | Fred Roche | 40 yd (37 m) |
| 64 | 1962 | OP | Sid Patterson | Scr |
| 65 | 1963 | OP | Fred Hellyer | 110 yd (100 m) |
| 66 | 1964 | OP | Sid Patterson | Scr. |
| 67 | 1965 | OP | Kenton Smith | 135 yd (123 m) |
| 68 | 1966 | OP | Bill Dove | 150 yd (140 m) |
| 69 | 1967 | OP | Victor Browne | 65 yd (59 m) |
| 70 | 1968 | OP | Merv. Andrea | 230 yd (210 m) |
| 71 | 1969 | OP | Charlie Walsh | 50 yd (46 m) |
| 72 | 1970 | OP | Bill Stevens | 35 yd (32 m) |
| 73 | 1971 | BV | Frank Daly | 135 yd (123 m) |
| 74 | 1972 | BV | Geoff Edmonds | 20 yd (18 m) |
| 75 | 1973 | BV | Gordon Johnson | Scr. |
| 76 | 1974 | BV | Ivan Collings | 90 yd (82 m) |
| 77 | 1975 | NV | Craig Price | 130 yd (120 m) |
| 78 | 1976 | NV | David Allan | 70 yd (64 m) |
| 79 | 1977 | NV | Danny Clark | Scr. |
| 80 | 1978 | CV | David Sanders | 50 m |
| 81 | 1979 | CV | Laurie Venn | Scr. |
| 82 | 1980 | CV | Daryl Benson | 90 m |
| 83 | 1981 | CV | Laurie Venn | Scr. |
| 84 | 1982 | NV | Steele Bishop | Scr. |
| 85 | 1983 | NV | Phil Sawyer | Scr. |
| 86 | 1984 | NV | Terry Schintler | 80 m |
| 87 | 1985 | NV | Allan Rackstraw | 80 m |
| 88 | 1986 | CV | Danny Clark | Scr. |
| 89 | 1987 | NV | Simon King | 110 m |
| 90 | 1988 | NV | Stephen Pate | Scr. |
| 91 | 1989 | NV | Grant Reynolds | 150 m |
| 92 | 1990 | NV | Danny Clark | Scr. |
| 93 | 1991 | NV | Stephen Pate | Minus 10 m |
| 94 | 1992 | NV | Bert Glennon | 120 m |
| 95 | 1993 | NV | Stephen Pate | Minus 20 m |
| 96 | 1994 | NV | Ashley Harding | 140 m |
| 97 | 1995 | NV | Tony Hughes | 80 m |
| 98 | 1996 | NV | Troy Clarke | 45 m |
| 99 | 1997 | NV | Matthew Atkins | 100 m |
| 100 | 1998 | NV | Shane Hodskiss | 75 m |
| 101 | 1999 | NV | Stephen Pate | Scr. |
| 102 | 2000 | NV | Gary Neiwand | 70 m | Helen Ingpen | 210 m |
| 103 | 2001 | JCA | Mark French | 80 m | Leeanne Manderson | |
| 104 | 2002 | JCA | Darren Young | Scr. | Kristine Bayley | Scr. |
| 105 | 2003 | JCA | Darren Young | Scr. |
| 106 | 2004 | JCA | Zak Dempster | 90 m | Jenny Macpherson | |
| 107 | 2005 | JCA | Ben Kersten | Scr. | Rahna Demarte | |
| 108 | 2006 | JCA | Dean Taylor | 130 m | Livia Gluchowska | 85 m |
| 109 | 2007 | JCA | Joel Stewart | 110 m | Uracca Leow | 85 m |
| 110 | 2008 | JCA | Jackson-Leigh Rathbone | 40 m |
| 111 | 2009 | JCA | Shane Perkins | 15 m |
| 112 | 2009 | DISC | Ben Sanders | 80 m |
| 113 | 2011 | DISC | Luke Ockerby | 45 m | Annette Edmondson | Scr. |
| 114 | 2012 | DISC | Luke Parker | 90 m | Annette Edmondson | Scr. |
| 115 | 2013 | DISC | Jason Niblett | 90 m | Caitlin Ward | 20 m |
| 116 | 2014 | DISC | Minori Shimmura (JPN) | 105 m | Annina Gallagher | 230 m |
| 117 | 2014 | JCA | Zach Williams (NZ) | 105 m | Brooke Tucker | 110 m |
| 118 | 2015 | JCA | Mitch Bullen | 50 m | Annette Edmondson | Scr. |
| 119 | 2016 | JCA | Stephen Cuff | 95 m | Brooklyn Vonderwall | 125 m |
| 120 | 2017 | JCA | Zachary Marshall | 80 m | Kristina Clonan | 30 m |
| 121 | 2018 | JCA | Sam Gallagher | 90 m | Stephanie Corset | 165 m |
| 122 | 2019 | JCA | Kelland O'Brien | Scr. | Georgia Baker | Scr. |
| 123 | 2021 | DISC | Sam Gallagher | Scr. | Lucinda Stewart | Scr. |
| 124 | 2022 | DISC | Dalton Stretton | 105 m | Maeve Plouffe | Scr. |
| 125 | 2023 | DISC | Graeme Frislie | Scr. | Georgia Baker | Scr. |

## Venues

Venues :
| | Venue | Surface | Years |
| BV | Brunswick Velodrome | Cement | 1971–1974 |
| CV | Coburg Velodrome | Cement | 1978–1981 1986 |
| DISC | Darebin International Sports Centre | Timber | 2009–2014 |
| EXA | Exhibition Track | Asphalt | 1904–1906, 1920–1923 1925–1927 |
| EXB | Exhibition Board Track | Timber | 1936–1938 |
| EXI | Exhibition Indoor Track | Timber | 1912–1913 |
| JCA | John Cain Arena | Timber | 2001–2009 2014– |
| MCG | Melbourne Cricket Ground | Grass | 1887–1903 1907–1910 |
| MD | Motordrome (Olympic Park) | Cement | 1923–1925 1927–1936 |
| NE | North Essendon Board Track | Timber | 1939–1957 |
| NV | Northcote Velodrome | Cement | 1975–1977 1982–1985 1988–2000 |
| OP | Olympic Park Velodrome | Timber | 1958–1970 |