Five time Tour de France winner Eddy Merckx and his Belgian compatriot Patrick Sercu will be in Adelaide next year for the Tour Down Under, as the race is confirmed for another four years. Their presence as special guests of the race is expected to be a huge drawcard for cycling fans who added a $43 million boost to South Australia's economy at this year's event. The International Cycling Union (UCI) has agreed to extend the Tour Down Under's WorldTour licence until 2015. The Australian race was the first non-European event to be added to the UCI ProTour in 2008. It is now the opening race of the year on the WorldTour.
UCI president Pat McQuaid said it was a particularly important time for cycling in Australia.
"The huge wave of popularity generated by Cadel Evans' historic win at the Tour de France this summer - after his World Championship triumph two years ago - has created an unprecedented momentum for our sport in Australia, which has contributed to the impressive growth of this event," he said in a statement.
SA Tourism Minister John Rau said cycling fans across Australia will have the chance to dine with Merckx and Sercu at the Legends Night Dinner. Merckx, who has been labelled the greatest cyclist of all time, had a professional career spanning from 1965 to 1978 during which he won every major classic and one-day event in road cycling.