BENDIGO’S Alan McCaig says he was humbled to be inducted alongside Kathy Watt and Shane Kelly into the Victorian Cycling Hall of Fame.
For 72-year-old McCaig, cycling has been what he calls a “lifetime interest” in which he has not only competed in the sport, but promoted and sponsored events.
His contribution to the sport was last week recognised with his induction into the Victorian Cycling Hall of Fame at a gala event held at the RACV Club in Melbourne.
“I’m very proud of this honour, especially to be alongside Kathy Watt, who is an Olympic gold and silver medallist, and Shane Kelly, a multiple world champion,” McCaig said yesterday.
“It was very humbling after what has been a lifetime interest in cycling.”
McCaig’s involvement with the sport dates back to the mid-1950s when he raced with the Bendigo Cycling Club.
He won one club race and then decided to retire “while on top”, as he put it, in the early ’60s as work commitments took precedence.
“Back in the mid-50s and early-60s I did a bit of racing with the Bendigo Cycling Club,” McCaig said yesterday.
“But I was never dogmatic about it, I suppose you could say. I used it purely and simply as a way of keeping fit and just as a pastime, more than anything else.
“My brother, Frank, was very serious about his racing, and that’s why he went so well, but I didn’t have that same level of interest, other than just liking the sport.”
While McCaig only had a short time as a competitor, his name has become synonymous with cycling in Bendigo through the successful Bendigo International Madison carnival.
Now one of the city’s most enduring and successful sporting events, McCaig was at the forefront of the first Madison held in 1970 at the Tom Flood Sports Centre.
“In the late ’50s and ’60s there were quite a few six-day bike races being held, particularly the one in Melbourne,” McCaig said.
“I always wondered about the intelligence of having six-day bike races in Australia when, firstly, it wasn’t a big sport and secondly, we didn’t have the cyclists or spectators.
“The only time they made any money out of these six-day bike races was on the ultimate and penultimate nights, so I thought why not just run a race on one night.
“The first Madison was held on December 11, 1970, and I remember there was a great big thunder cloud come across at the worst possible time and people stayed away in their thousands.
“But we were still able to break even that night and that was the start of it.”
The Madison was switched to the now annual March Labour Day long weekend in 1972 to be held in conjunction with the Bendigo Thousand carnival, where it was jointly run by the Bendigo Apex and Lions clubs.
McCaig spent 11 years promoting the Madison carnival with the help of his younger brother Frank, who then took over as promoter for 20 years from 1982.
Frank, who passed away in 2009, was the first Bendigo Advertiser Sports Star of the Year winner. The award is now backed by WIN Television and bankmecu.
He was inducted to the Victorian Cycling Hall of Fame in 2005.
“During those years I was the promoter Frank did an outstanding job in assisting me,” said Alan McCaig, who rates Tasmanian Danny Clark, who won five Bendigo madisons, the best cyclist he has seen.
“We used to talk about how we could make the program different each year and what events were new to Australia that we could include, like the kieren races from Japan, and the omniums and individual pursuits.
“Looking back, what I’m most proud of is what the carnival means to Bendigo. You never really know how much it contributes to the economy of Bendigo, but a few years ago La Trobe University did a survey and estimated the figure was around $1.5 million a year, so over 40 or so years, that’s a lot of money contributed to Bendigo.”
Although he’s no longer the promoter, McCaig is still involved with the madison through his company, McCaig Airconditioning, which has been the major sponsor of the carnival since 2001.
He also maintains a keen interest in the Bendigo District Cycling Club, where his 11-year-old grandson Connor McCaig is racing and continuing the legacy of one of the city’s great cycling families.
“The great thing about the Madison is it has always promoted a lot of cycling in Bendigo,” McCaig said.
“When you see all those little riders aged 8 to 13 racing on a Thursday night, it’s fantastic and I’m sure there’s a bright future for the sport here in Bendigo, which I think has been the centre of cycling for a long time.”
Email a friend