The world's oldest track race has an honour roll befitting its history, from Olympic gold medallists and world champions to folklore heroes of Australian cycling.
Winning the Quest Ivanhoe Austral Wheelrace once is special, notching the double is incredible and anything more than that is a bona fide indicator of legendary status.
Through 127 editions of the men's Austral, only nine have joined the multi-time winners club, such is the difficulty and unpredictably of the handicap race.
In the brief history of the women's Austral, two have stamped their name on the honour roll more than once.
Multi-time Austral Wheelrace winners
4 - Stephen Pate
- 1988 (90th): Scratch (Coburg Velodrome)
- 1991 (93rd): -10 metres (Northcote Velodrome)
- 1993 (95th): -20 metres (Northcote Velodrome)
- 1999 (101st): Scratch (Northcote Velodrome)
The winningest rider in Austral Wheelrace history, one-time sprint world champion Stephen Pate took out the Austral on four occasions over an 11-year period.
Stephen Pate racing at Northcote Velodrome. (Picture: Ray Bowles)
Pate took his first win in 1988 from scratch to become the last winner at Coburg.
Three years laters in 1991 at Northcote, the Victorian was given the honour of starting 10 metres behind scratch, but that didn't make any difference to the final outcome.
After missing the 1992 event, Pate was back in 1993 and hit with another 10 metres by the handicapper, putting him at 20 behind scratch. But again, he ended the night as the winner.
Six years later in 1999, he was given a move back to scratch and won his fourth Austral.
Pate remains the only Austral winner from a handicap behind scratch.
3 - Danny Clark
- 1977 (79th): Scratch (Northcote Velodrome)
- 1986 (88th): Scratch (Coburg Velodrome)
- 1990 (92nd): Scratch (Northcote Velodrome)
One of Australia's greatest ever track cyclists, Tasmanian Danny Clark first etched his name into the Austral Wheelrace history books in 1977 at Northcote amongst a strong scratch group that included Gary Wiggins and Laurie Venn, plus Keith Oliver on 10 metres.
Danny Clark celebrates winning the 1977 Austral Wheelrace.
1977 was also the first Austral to be handicapped in metres instead of yards.
Back at Coburg in 1986, Clark became a two-time winner, again from scratch.
Clark's final win arrived in 1990 at Northcote, once again from scratch. His victory that night made him the first man to achieve three Austral wins.
2 - Harry Lambton
- 1887 (1st): 210 yards (Melbourne Cricket Ground)
- 1892 (6th): 200 yards (Melbourne Cricket Ground)
It's fitting that the Austral Wheelrace's first-ever winner was also the first man to achieve the double.
Harry Lambton won from 210 yards on that first day of the Austral in front of a bumper crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The alliance between the Melbourne Bicycle Club and the Melbourne Cricket Ground created the Austral Wheelrace in 1887, drawing crowds up to 30,000 spectators.
Five years later, Lambton won it again, this time from 200 yards.
2 - Frank Corry
- 1910 (24th): 90 yards (Melbourne Cricket Ground)
- 1925 (32nd): 160 yards (Motordrome)
Corry was the second two-time Austral winner after Lambton, winning first in 1910 from 90 yards at the MCG and then again in 1925 from 160 yards at the Motordrome.
The Bathurst-born talent embarked on a professional career in America after his first win in 1910 and returned as a motor-pacing specialist.
Frank Corry.
2 - Sid Patterson
- 1962 (64th): Scratch (Melbourne Olympic Velodrome)
- 1964 (66th): Scratch (Melbourne Olympic Velodrome)
The Austral had eluded Patterson at the North Essendon Board Track but he seemed much more at one with the Melbourne Olympic Velodrome when the raced moved there in 1958.
Based on his strong form, 1958 loomed as his best chance to date to breakthrough for an Austral win, but he would finish one length behind the winner in fourth.
It was another four years before the Austral stars aligned for Patterson. In 1962, only he and John Perry qualified off scratch for the final. After a fast start, Patterson was able to get a short rest while in contact with the bunch and then no one was able to challenge him in the last half of the final lap.
With both arms raised in the air and the record crowd making their appreciation very clear, this was an epic moment in cycling history. It had been 40 years since a scratchman had won the Austral Wheelrace.
With the form remaining steady despite his growing age, the question for Patterson was would he ever be able to do it again. The answer was clear two years later.
The Victorian was the sole scratchman in the final, but it was known that the five backmarkers had made a shared agreement. The other riders were Perry off 15 yards, Lawrie off 25 yards, and Young and Ciavola off 40 yards.
The gap in front of that quintet to the frontmarkers, who had no apparent plan, was a further 60 yards. With no plan, the backmarkers group swept up the frontmarkers and Patto became the third rider to win two Australs.
Sid Patterson celebrates his 1962 win.
2 - Laurie Venn
- 1979 (81st): Scratch (Coburg Velodrome)
- 1981 (83rd) Scratch (Coburg Velodrome)
Laurie Venn found Austral glory on two occasions from scratch at Coburg, first in 1979 and again in 1981.
The Tasmanian's Austral wins were two of the highlights of his track career, which preceded a national road race title and Sir Hubert Opperman Trophy honour in 1985.
The second Austral to be run at the Coburg Velodrome was in 1979, won clearly by Laurie Venn, and he repeated again in 1981.
2 - Darren Young
- 2002 (104th): Scratch (John Cain Arena)
- 2003 (105th): Scratch (John Cain Arena)
Tasmanian Darren Young remains the only back-to-back winner of the Austral Wheelrace, achieving the rare feat in 2002 and 2003, both off scratch.
At his first Austral appearance in 2002, Young beat out fellow Tasmanian Andrew Loft (140 metres), Olympic gold medallist Shane Kelly (scratch) and Kial Stewart (30 metres).
"This was my first Austral and I came out and won it," Young told Cyclingnews.
"And to come out and win it with people like Shane Kelly there ... that was even better. I never expected this. Not tonight, anyway. Obviously it is the biggest race. I have joined all the greats - like Stephen Pate."
Darren Young atop the 2002 101st Austral Wheelrace podium. (Picture: Kathy Watt)
Defending his crown in 2003, Young started on scratch alongside Ryan Bayley, with two outmarkers directly behind them.
One of them, Justin Leske, gave everything at the start in an attempt to hold the wheel of Bayley and Young and with the crowd cheering him on, Leske did for four laps, before his brave effort became too much and he rapidly lost contact.
Ahead of the flying group of backmarkers, powered along by Shaun Hopkins, Robert Wilson, Leigh Egan and Brad Norton, the strong group of middle markers reeled in the leaders with four laps remaining, only for the chasers to make contact on the following lap.
Sean Finning jumped away from the bunch two laps from home, but Bayley turned on the afterburners to take the race lead at the bell lap. Young had had a dream run to this point and came off the wheel around the final bend to win in a race record time of 2:02.301.
Darren Young remains in the history books as the only back-to-back winner of the Austral Wheelrace.
2 - Sam Gallagher
- 2018 (121st): 90 metres (John Cain Arena)
- 2021 (123rd): Scratch (Joe Ciavola Velodrome - DISC)
In 2018, Melburnian Sam Gallagher, off 90 metres, launched out of a front group on the bell lap to win his first Austral Wheelrace at the age of 17.
A strong, young group of several organised middlemarkers had controlled the Austral's 121st edition to perfection, with Gallagher able to sit in comfortably on the wheels until his winning move was made in the final lap.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, Gallagher won off scratch in a field solely made up of Victorian-based riders.
Sam Gallagher winning the 2021 Austral Wheelrace. (Picture: John Gondek)
2 - Kelland O'Brien
- 2019 (122nd): Scratch (John Cain Arena)
- 2022 (125th): Scratch (Joe Ciavola Velodrome - DISC)
Melbourne's modern hometown hero Kelland O'Brien became the first scratchman winner of the Austral Wheelrace in 14 years in 2019, five years after winning the junior Austral.
O'Brien and his Australian Cycling Team teammate Sam Welsford, who finished second, blitzed the field off scratch around John Cain Arena to win a time of 1:58.44.
Kelland O'Brien winning the 2019 Austral. (Picture: Con Chronis)
2022 delivered a double serve of Austral Wheelraces, with the 125th edition of the race held in December.
O'Brien became the latest man to join the multi-time winners club off scratch, finishing the job after a rapid backmarkers group slashed through the field.
Fellow scratchman Luke Plapp scythed his way through the 24-strong field in aid of O’Brien, with a large, early train of back markers chopping and dwindling with every passing lap.
The motoring back markers made the catch of the front of the race with two laps to go, allowing Plapp to deliver O’Brien to the optimal drop-off spot for victory ahead of Oliver Bleddyn and Blake Agnoletto in front of a loud hometown crowd.
2 - Annette Edmondson
- 2012 (2nd): Scratch (Joe Ciavola Velodrome - DISC)
- 2015 (6th): Scratch (John Cain Arena)
Australian cycling icon Annette Edmondson became the first woman to lift the Austral Wheelrace trophy twice, doing so at the revitalised 2nd edition of the women's race in 2012 after winning omnium bronze at the London 2012 Olympics.
Annette Edmondson is pushed by 2013 men's Austral winner Jason Niblett at the start of the 2015 women's Austral. (Picture: Con Chronis)
Edmondson doubled up three years later in 2015, again off scratch.
Georgia Baker off 15 metres and Edmondson caught the lead group with two laps to race and closely covered the wheel of defending champion Brooke Tucker, who started off 60 metres.
Edmondson almost let her second Austral slip when Baker attacked and left her behind. With work to do, she dug deep and pipped Baker on the line ahead of Tucker in third.
Annette Edmondson after winning the 2015 women's Austral Wheelrace. (Picture: Con Chronis)
2 - Georgia Baker
- 2019 (10th): Scratch (John Cain Arena)
- 2023 (14th): Scratch (Joe Ciavola Velodrome - DISC)
Tasmanian Georgia Baker has been a perennial threat in the Austral Wheelrace over the last decade, winning her first in 2019 and her second in 2023.
In 2019, Baker and fellow scratchwomen Kristina Clonan and Ash Ankudinoff went one-two-three at John Cain Arena, highlighting the importance of an organised group.
Georgia Baker celebrates after winning the 2019 women's Austral Wheelrace. (Picture: Con Chronis)
After being pipped on the line by close friend Alexandra Manly in 2022, Baker finally joined Edmondson in the two-time winners club a year later.
The pair of Manly and Baker were again off scratch together in 2023 and caught an enormous main group with four laps to go while a solo Amelia Mulhern off 100 metres led the race.
As Baker navigated her way through the frontmarkers, Manly tried in vain to find a way onto her wheel after finding herself boxed in below the blue line.
Baker quickly found herself in a prime position after going around the outside of the bunch and waited until one and a half laps to go before launching her race-winning attack.
Simultaneously, a crash bringing down Sally Carter, Nicole Duncan and Kiwi Caitlin Kelly split the bunch, providing Baker’s attack even more of an advantage.
Only Sophie Edwards (40 metres) and Keira Will (60 metres) could follow Baker, with the three-time Olympian holding off a late surge from Edwards to win.
Georgia Baker after winning her second Austral Wheelrace. (Picture: Josh Chadwick)