Bendigo officials are eager to get the wheels spinning on a bid to host the world's leading amateur road cycling event.
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Regional Victoria has secured the rights to hold the Union Cycliste Internationale Gran Fondo World Championships in 2025, just the third time the event has been staged outside of Europe.
City of Greater Bendigo's tourism and major events manager Terry Karamaloudis said Bendigo is "100 per cent interested" in hosting the event.
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"Greater Bendigo will be putting its very best case forward to see if we can have the prestige of hosting this event," Mr Karamaloudis said.
"We have a very proud history and demonstrated the ability to stage major international events in Bendigo.
"We have the facilities, the desire and the enthusiasm to stage the UCI World Cycling Championships."
The event features road races and time trails across men's, women's junior and under-23 categories.
Gran fondo translates from Italian as "big ride" and describes a mass participation event attracting riders of all ages and abilities.
The government forecasts the championships will deliver a $9.8 million economic benefit to the state.
Bendigo District Cycling Club president Garry Pontelandolfo said the event would be a coup for Bendigo cyclists.
"Being a UCI event, it will lift cycling's profile and help boost participation in the sport," Mr Pontelandolfo said.
"It gives local people across Victoria a chance to participate, something they normally wouldn't be able to do with the event being hosted in Europe."
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Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula said the event will be a tremendous opportunity to promote Victoria's cycling tourism offerings to the world.
"Victoria knows how to stage global sporting events better than anyone and it's fantastic that these championships are headed here in 2025," Mr Pakula said.
A government spokesperson said Cycling Australia will assess potential locations in regional Victoria, which will include input from Visit Victoria, before providing a recommendation to UCI.
"Regional Victoria has many amazing locations that have hosted world-class cycling events and we expect interest to be lodged by local councils from across the state," the spokesperson said.
The process to identify a location is expected to take up to 12 months.