Bike Europe: Australian bike sales rise after successful Tour de France

In Australia, a growing number of people are joining racing and recreational bicycle clubs, inspired by the success of Australian professional riders overseas. Tour de France TV-audiences were up 27 % on 2006, with each live stage of the Tour de France attracting an average 211,000 viewers over the three weeks in which Cadel Evans rode to second overall.

While German television networks refused to broadcast this year’s drug-tainted Tour de France, more Australians tuned into live coverage than ever before. While elite cycling is plagued by problems, the sport in Australia has become so popular that doctors and lawyers are choosing to network on the bike instead of on the golf course.

According to a recent Australian Sports Commission survey, cycling is now the fourth most popular physical activity in Australia. Australian Customs figures show that the growth in bike sales has outstripped car sales for the past five years.

About 1.2 million bikes were sold in Australia in 2006. That’s up from 775,000 in 2001. That is not only the result of the growing popularity of the sport. The Cycling Promotion Fund believes this is partly due to the fact people want to reduce their individual carbon emissions.