The Bay Crits – How a Wild Idea Became an Australian Summer Icon

Some ideas arrive fully formed. Others take a bit of stubbornness, a bit of luck, and a bit of sheer bloody-mindedness. The Bay Cycling Classic — or the Bay Crits, as everyone came to call it — had all three.

Back in 1988, I’d been thinking hard about how to bring cycling to the people. Not tucked away in industrial estates or hidden in country towns, but right into the heart of Melbourne’s summer holiday crowds. The beaches, the foreshore, the caravan parks — that’s where the people were. So why not take the racing to them?

I’d mapped out the concept, the courses, the timing. What I didn’t have was a naming‑rights sponsor. Then, during the Sun Tour that year, which was sponsored by Swan Brewing, I found myself chatting to their marketing boss. I pitched him the idea: a criterium series around the bay, racing in front of thousands of holidaymakers.

He loved it. He said Swan would back it. And suddenly the Bay Crits had a heartbeat.

Network 10 jumped on board too — not just to cover the races, but to broadcast the weather live from every venue. They even paid me for the rights. Imagine that happening today.

Everything was set. We were weeks away from launching. And then the entire Bond empire collapsed — Swan Brewing included. Overnight, I had a brilliant event… and no major sponsor.

Most people would’ve thrown in the towel. But I’ve never been very good at taking no for an answer.

I’d just ordered a swimming pool from Blue Haven Pools in Sydney, and I decided they were the perfect naming‑rights partner. I gave the owner such a relentless pitch that he eventually signed the deal just to get rid of me. I never paid for the pool, and he got national exposure. A true win‑win.

And so the Blue Haven Pools Bay Cycling Classic was born.

A Summer Spectacle Takes Off

From the very first edition in 1989, the Bay Crits exploded. We ran two series simultaneously — one on the Mornington Peninsula, one on the Bellarine — Monday to Friday, five days straight. Channel 10 broadcast nightly packages and live weather crosses. Crowds lined the barriers. Riders loved the intensity. It was fast, furious, and unlike anything else in Australian cycling.

The inaugural winners were Austrian Peter Steiger on one side of the bay and Gary Sutton on the other. The following year Glenn Clarke won both series. By 1994, the event had grown so much that we added a women’s series — won first by Kathy Watt and later dominated by Anna Wilson.

The Bay Crits became the first race in the world to offer equal prize money for women. That’s something I’ll always be proud of.

Through the 90s and 2000s, the list of champions reads like a who’s who of Australian cycling: Robbie McEwen (six titles by 2005), Neil Stephens, Baden Cooke, Mark Renshaw, Matt Goss, Caleb Ewan (three wins), and Sam Welsford in 2020.

I still remember a 17‑year‑old Caleb Ewan blasting past 2012 winner Allan Davis in Williamstown to win a stage. You could see the future in that sprint.

But the biggest name to ever race the Bay Crits in its early years was Phil Anderson. Nearing the end of his career, he returned to race in Australia for the first time since turning pro in 1980. It was a coup — and he delivered, winning solo in Ocean Grove.

That day sticks with me for another reason. Phil Liggett and I were commentating from the finish line when I slipped, split my trousers, and exposed far more than intended. Luckily, a clothing shop sat directly behind us. I sprinted in, grabbed a pair of jeans, and promised to pay after the race. I gave the shop so many plugs on the mic that the owner refused to take my money.

The Legends Before They Were Legends

The Bay Crits became a breeding ground for future stars.

I remember watching a breakaway in Geelong in the late 90s — Robbie McEwen among them — lap the field. Then a lone rider jumped clear, trying to bridge across solo. I asked Dave Sanders who the kid was.

“That’s a 17‑year‑old mountain biker named Cadel.”

Cadel Evans not only bridged — he lapped the field alone.

Another standout was Will Walker, also 17, who got away with a British Olympic rider and held off a charging Robbie McEwen. On the podium, Phil Liggett asked him, “What does it feel like to beat Robbie McEwen?” Will replied, “I’m just happy to meet him.”

Moments like that became the soul of the Bay Crits.

The women’s racing grew into a powerhouse too — Ruby Roseman‑Gannon, Valentina Scandolara, Chloe Hosking, Gracie Elvin — all adding depth, speed, and prestige.

And behind the scenes, it was a family affair. My kids worked the barriers. Karin Jones — my right‑hand woman — and her husband Chris brought their three kids along too. Their eldest, Brenton Jones, would go on to win the Bay Crits twice, including a victory over Zak Dempster in 2014.

The Summer of Cycling

The Bay Crits eventually expanded into the Summer of Cycling, sponsored by Skilled Engineering and later Jayco. It included the Mt Buller Cup and the Tour of Tasmania — won by Cadel Evans in 1999 and 2000. When he rode away from the field on Mt Wellington, Phil Liggett famously said, “This kid could win the Tour de France one day.” He still dines out on that line.

I also organised the first Australian Road Championships where pros and amateurs raced together. The course went over the Westgate Bridge, out to Lara, and back. The ONCE team lit it up for Neil Stephens, but a young amateur named Robbie McEwen bridged across and outfoxed them all. Stephens took the title, but Robbie took the glory.

There was even a midweek mountain series with Network 10 — small crowds, brilliant racing, pure heart.

And through it all, my friendship with Phil Liggett helped elevate the events. Phil was more popular than most of the riders. People came just to hear his voice.

A Different Era Now

You couldn’t run the Bay Crits the same way today. The WorldTour has changed everything — the racing, the schedules, the priorities. The Tour Down Under and the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race are world‑class events, but they leave no room for a criterium series featuring the sport’s biggest names.

The sport has evolved. The calendar has tightened. The stakes have risen.

But the legacy of the Bay Crits lives on — not just in the results, but in the riders it launched, the crowds it thrilled, and the stories that still get told decades later.

And if there’s a future for summer racing in Australia, I believe it lies with the next generation — building races for young Aussie riders, giving them the platform to grow, and creating the next wave of stars who might one day look back and say, “It all started here.”