Menzies to Kalgoorlie Cyclassic Bike Race-

Australia’s Richest Handicap Cycle Race

Cycling has been part of the Goldfields since the courier cyclist in the 1890s carried messages around the Goldfields before the telegraph line came to the region. This year’s Minara Resources Goldfields Classic will continue as a two-stage handicap race across the rich and historic landscape of the Western Australian outback from Kalgoorlie-Boulder to Menzies and on to Leonora.

Held over the WA Day long weekend the two-stage event will be run as two individual race stages. With large prize money up for grabs across a variety of grades, this is a marvelous opportunity for both professional and amateur riders. Riders completing the second stage of the Minara Resources Goldfields Cyclassic –

Stage 1 is the 93 St Barbara Menzies Classic –  Chas Egan Memorial Race. They will continue north along the Goldfields Highway. It will be a fast race. The 2022 St Barbara Menzies Classic – Chas Egan Memorial Race will start in Kalgoorlie-Boulder and head north along the Goldfields Highway, through the eucalypt woodlands to Menzies, undulating over 132km. Four sprint sections await the opportunistic rider to try and grab some cash on the way. The race finishes in the main street of Menzies, opposite the Menzies Town Hall. The race, being a handicap event, means all riders are placed behind the first rider over the line, regardless of which grade they ride in. Hence riders from all grades have the opportunity to win Line Honours.

Stage 2 Riders completing the second stage of the Goldfields Cyclassic – the Minara Resources Leonora Golden Wheels starts on Sunday morning in Menzies. They will continue north along the Goldfields Highway. After heading down the hill from Menzies, the road can be seen heading out across the Jeedamya plains to Leonora. This race again will be run as a stand-alone handicap race with three sprint sections set along the route. The race will enter the town of Leonora where riders will complete one lap of a very tight street circuit before hitting the finishing line where the celebrations around the Leonora Golden Gift take place.

This photograph is from an earlier race in 1930 and shows six competitors and their support teams. The Grand Hotel and Montgomery’s store in Menzies are in the background.

Menzies Bike Race 1930 – Photo SLWA

This photograph of William Davies shows him wearing the MCC ‘Menzies Cycle Club’ medal he won on the 3rd April 1899 for the Menzies Inter-Club Cycle Race. The medal which is shown front and back is still in the possession of his family. (Photos from the Davies family)

William Davies 1899 wearing medal

Medal of William Davies ‘front’

Medal of William Davies back

William Davies far right

Good luck to all the competitors of this weekend’s races both on bike and foot!

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Moya Sharp

Owner at Outback Family History

My name is Moya Sharp, I live in Kalgoorlie Western Australia and have worked most of my adult life in the history/museum industry. I have been passionate about history for as long as I can remember and in particular the history of my adopted home the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. Through my website I am committed to providing as many records and photographs free to any one who is interested in the family and local history of the region.

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