South Perth Rouleurs

Ride Routes 30th May – 5th June

Perth Cup (not the horse race). Probably known under a few different names, depending on who you talk to, the Perth Cup is a small offshoot of the Aussie Cup during the main grand tours (Giro, Tour, Vuelta). In other words, who are the best placed Aussies during the race, and then who are the best place WA riders within that. At this years Giro, it has really been a “Perth Cup” as the top three Aussies in the race are all from Perth. Jai Hindley, Michael Storer and Ben O’Connor are currently sitting 4th, 7th and 10th respectively. There are another eight Aussies currently in this race and it is testament to the quality of riders hailing from WA to see how well the SandGropers are going. The photo (that I always love to drag out during these times) shows the State Crit Champs at Tech Park and is probably the Under 15 or 17 race. With Jai and Michael, is Sam Welsford who is also in the ProTour, just no the Giro this year. Ben O’Connor apparently was a late starter to cycling so we never really saw him at the Tech Park Crits. With Jai winning the Giro a couple of years ago, Storer winning stages in 2 grand tours plus the mountains jersey and Welsford sprinting against the best in the world, it is easy to see why we think that Tech Park was where legends were made.

For a number of years, SPR and RCCC held crits at Tech Park and we had it running like clockwork. RCCC would manage approvals and timing and SPR would manage the program for the day. It was a big task that took the whole day but certainly was a highlight of the summer racing program. The natural amphitheatre along Brodie-Hall Dr made for excellent viewing with lots of trees to provide shade in the hotter months. There was one sketchy corner where some people would exit the circuit and end up on the grass, but overall it was a fast but tough circuit.

Whenever we have posted any memories of racing there, comments have asked for the resurrection of the circuit. Unfortunately I can’t see it happening. Like most things, progress has taken its toll on accessibility and there are now more 7 day a week businesses in that area. I did ride around there one Sunday morning after coming back from the hills and found a gym or church or something that meant that there were lots of cars parked along Sarich way. With Perth Park at least 18 months away, we will need to find another circuit to create some legends.

https://southperthrouleurs.com.au/2026/05/28/ride-routes-30th-may-5th-june-2/

Ride Routes 23rd – 29th May

Perth Park is the name for the new development next to Optus Stadium in Burswood. Often controversial due to the inclusion of motorsport, the majority of the redevelopment will be focussing on everything but motorsport. It is important to us as cyclists as it will provide a new racing and training circuit close to the city. It is important to the rest of the community as it will provide an outdoor entertainment space and facilities for loads of other activities.

These two things, however, don’t always co-exist well and luckily SPR has been involved in the consultation process over the last couple of years. Last week it was announced that the major construction contract has been awarded. A few days before that, there was a meeting about the setup of the cycling circuit and it’s interaction with other aspects of the park. Hopefully our feedback is taken on board and we get a facility that can really benefit the cycling community.

There have been a number of announcements about the park in the last week some directly from the government and some from the dedicated website. However, there is a lot of talky, talk in there so let me explain what I know after having discussions with the designers and main roads.

There are three potential track layouts. A dedicated training track of 850m, a race circuit of 1.25km and a longer circuit of about 1.79kms. The longest circuit takes in some of the surrounding roads and would require traffic management as well as approval from Venues West, who will be managing the area. This circuit would potentially be used for bigger events like state or national races. The shorter 1.25km track circles the new pit lane and open air amphitheatre area. This does not require traffic management, but would require approval from Venues West. The shorter circuit, or “training track” is meant to be accessible for cyclist at all times except when used as part of the motorsport circuit or used as bus parking during a stadium event.

So, let me explain a few things before we delve further into track design, etc. A stadium event is any time that the stadium fully utilised. i.e. footy game, concert, etc. During these times, they generally close off the roads surrounding the stadium and force people to take public transport. Unfortunately, all these extra buses need to go somewhere and they will be parked on the training circuit. So, that is one caveat on our training circuit that is “available at all times”. Fortunately, most of these events don’t take place on a Sunday morning when our races usually do, so there is some room for negotiation.

Speaking of that, the relationship with Venues West and how things are booked is also an unknown at the moment. The fear is that the amphitheatre area will be booked out so often that we never get to use the 1.25km circuit. Our only saving grace is that we generally run races on a Sunday morning, so could probably negotiate around bump in, bump out access for another party setting up inside the race track. The same applies to organised training sessions on the smaller circuit. It is unknown at the moment how that will operate. If the Speeddome is anything to go buy (also managed by Venues West) then potentially slots of time could be booked out by clubs, or set times for all access bulk training could be organised.

The majority of the discussion that was had last week with the designers centred on the training circuit and what it would look like. The length of the circuit was raised as a concern if used for racing, but due to the camber of the race track and access for pedestrian walkways, this is the best option we have. The southern straight which shares alignment with the event track is part of the car race circuit and should be wide enough for competitive racing. The northern side runs parallel with Roger Mackay Drive and will be separated from normal traffic. However, the motorsport circuit uses the full width of the bike and car lanes, so any barriers need to be removable. Their initial suggestion was to put those small slightly elevated lumps (armadillos) between the cars and bikes. I cautioned against that as it is hard for bikes to see them when in a group and if you hit one you will end up on the road side of the circuit. They said they will look into a wall to separate the traffic.

Another bonus has been the advocacy work from Westcycle to push for lighting to be put around the training circuit. This gives us unprecedented access to a circuit all year round and potentially allows us to run midweek winter races. However, I can foresee a number of operational safety issues with having a circuit so readily accessible. For example, what happens when a training group is riding around and some random enters the circuit in the opposite direction. Should the circuit have only one direction, or does that then limit the usability of it?

So there is lots of discussion still to be had and lots of areas where this could swing either for or against us as cyclists. Hopefully we can get in front of the right people at the right time so that we can have a facility that we can actually utilise.

I realise that this blog goes out well past just our club, so I am willing to be used as a focal point for any questions that people may have or want to be presented when discussions are held. If you add any queries to the comments on the facebook posts, anything I can’t answer, I will try to table at the appropriate time. (extra photos of the circuit layout via the blog link below)

https://southperthrouleurs.com.au/2026/05/21/ride-routes-23rd-29th-may-2/