Club History
Club History
The Canberra Cycling Club can trace its origins back to the mid1920s and was one of several local clubs of the era, including the Queanbeyan Cycling Club (est. circa1918) and the Kingston Cycling Club (est. circa1927/28).
The Canberra Cycling Club (CCC) was first established on 15th November 1926 and was affiliated with the League of New South Wales Wheelmen. The club's 'first run' was held on Sunday 21st November 1926, departing at 2.30pm from the front of the Hotel Canberra, with '…all members and others desirous of joining up…' being encouraged not to '…miss this opportunity for an enjoyable spin…'.
The CCC has operated in a number of guises over the years and has been operating in its current form since June 1984, after a special general meeting of the Canberra Old Boys Amateur Cycling Club (COBACC) was convened on the 28th March 1984 to decide whether to accept a request from the Canberra Wests Amateur Cycling Club (CWACC) to combine the two clubs as one. The motion was passed 32 to 12 with one abstention.
The Club Uniform
The club's current white, black and blue colours stem from a vote at the March 2000 AGM, when a motion to change the club's colours from yellow, green and white was accepted. The previous uniform design incorporated the new Parliament House flagpole in deep green and fluoro yellow colours.
Canberra Events
The Canberra Cycling Club's two high profile cycling events are the Canberra Tour and the Tour de Femme. The inaugural Tour de Femme, Australia's largest women'sonly cycle race, was first held in November 1990, attracting 105 women. The format of the Tour de Femme allows women of all ages and abilities to participate and this has seen the event grow from strength to strength, such that the November 2001 edition attracted over 520 women of all ages and abilities.
The Canberra Tour is a multistage, two day race held in April each year. It is considered one of the toughest races on the Australian calendar. The first Canberra Tour was held in 1983. 1984 saw the race obtain sponsorship from Spokesman Cycles, and was known as the Spokesman 2 Day Tour. From 1989 to 1997 the race was sponsored by Canberra Milk, and was known as the 'Milk Race'. Since the loss of Canberra Milk as a namingrights sponsor the race has been renamed the Canberra Tour.
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