TROY BELL MP
Member for Mount Gambier
Your Independent voice
in State Parliament
Grant keeps classic event wheels turning
Thursday March 27, 2025Alocal sporting organisation has received a cash boost from the State Government to support its biggest event of the year.
The Mount Gambier Cycling Club has been allocated $20,000 cash from the State Government for its 100 Mile Classic over the next two years.
Mount Gambier Cycling Club president John Cranwell said the club approached Ben Hood MLC after facing sponsorship difficulties due to the rising cost of living.
Mr Hood then contacted politicians including Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell who wrote to the South Australian Premier about funding for the community event.
“They can only do the two years because there is an election year next year so he cannot commit with the future government and I can understand that but $10,000 over each year is good so we’re quite happy with that,” Mr Cranwell said.
“It has been good to get them on board and hopefully we can keep them on board for a few more years to come. It really makes it easier for us.
“The $10,000 will go towards the prize money and a little bit of the running of the race because we have to pay for people to come down from Adelaide for timing and things like that but we will try and keep it as reasonably good prize money.
“Troy did say that normally something like that will take up to a month to get approved but it was approved within 24 hours so it was great.”
Premier Peter Malinauskas and Mr Bell agreed that it is a testament to the club, riders and the passionate community the event has existed for over 80 years.
Mr Cranwell said it was getting harder to find sponsors in today’s economic climate.
“We are not out to get big ones but every little bit helps,” he said.
“We have got a couple of our sponsors who have actually upped their own sponsorship on their own volition.
“We have said we are quite happy with what we got last year and this year they have come onboard with a bit more money.
“A lot of it is from locals so we like so support our locals around here and we can only do what we can do.
“We are grateful for them (our sponsors), we really are.”
The 88th running of the Mount Gambier Cycling Club will take place on Saturday, May 17 with Mr Cranwell having organised it for 15 years.
“It will be nice to go for another 12 years to get to the 100th. It is not going to fail on my watch,” Mr Cranwell said.
“It is an original and unique race because nowadays they do them all in what they call grades whereas down here they are all individually handicapped on their own individual performances.
“We are about the last long distance race like that in Australia.”
Mr Cranwell said the race will follow the same route as last year due to previous safety concerns.
“We changed it last year because we used to go to Millicent along the highway from KCA into Millicent then back to Range Hill turnoff so that was about 25km on the highway and the police were not keen on it,” he said.
“When we told them this year the worst bit of the highway is going to be from Tantanoola to the Glencoe turnoff which is about 500 metres, they were ecstatic.
“We have to think about the riders, they’re the main thing, and then the spectators and all the officials standing on the side with arrows and the volunteers.”
The Mount Gambier Cycling Club was also allocated $15,574.17 cash and up to $1100 in-kind support from City Of Mount Gambier’s 2024/2025 Grants and Sponsorship for the cycling event as announced at council’s February meeting.
“We are grateful for the City of Mount Gambier and the people – they come out and they support it,” Mr Cranwell said.