EVANS, MR C.

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:49): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Thank you. I beg your pardon? I am sure all members of this house will join me in congratulating Cadel Evans on his magnificent victory at the weekend, becoming the first Australian to win the Tour de France. The Tour de France is one of the great sporting events of the world. It is the ultimate test of endurance and requires an extremely high level of fitness, skill and mental toughness to complete this three-week endurance race. I know there are a number of sub-elite cyclists here on the front bench. It is worth reminding the house that this gruelling race covers a distance of 3,430 kilometres over some of the most challenging mountain roads in Europe. The race this year consisted of 10 flat stages, six mountain stages and three stages that mixed climbing and sprinting. The longest stage for a single day covered 226.5 kilometres, so it is not an event for the faint-hearted.

To not only complete the race but defeat the best riders in the world and win takes a very special person. This is why Cadel's victory is one of the greatest individual achievements in Australian sporting history. It is a tribute to the courage, sheer hard work and unwavering determination displayed by Cadel Evans over the course of his riding career that, at the age of 34, he has become the oldest rider to win the Tour de France in post-war history. Having already won the world championships in 2009 and now the Tour de France in 2011, his international status as a cycling legend is beyond question.

South Australians had the pleasure of watching Cadel ride in the Tour Down Under in 2010. While wearing a rainbow jersey as the reigning world champion, he competed against many of the best riders in the world in our Pro Tour event. I can inform the house that yesterday I wrote to Cadel to congratulate him on his remarkable achievement and asked him to consider coming back to South Australia to ride before a legion of Australian fans in the 2012 Tour Down Under. Cadel received an extraordinarily warm reception from the fans in 2010, including, of course, as the member for Mawson will remember, on a fantastic, brilliant performance on the Willunga Hill.

We know the response from the thousands of Australians who gather to watch the Tour Down Under would be even greater in 2012 if he were to ride as the reigning Tour de France winner. On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of people in Australia who would like the opportunity to see Cadel ride again on home soil, in the only world tour event in the Southern Hemisphere, we hope he can make it to the Tour Down Under as part of his preparations for the defence of his Tour de France title next year.

Ms Fox: Félicitations! Vive Cadel!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: There are some French speakers behind me.