History
The first general classification winner was Keith Rowley, a Maffra sheep farmer, in a time of 42 hr 57 min 55 sec. The first King of the Mountain and Sprint champion was Jack (John) McDonough from Coburg.
Australian cyclists dominated the first 30 editions of the race, before its status rose and began attracting overseas stars. By the year 2000, the race had shifted to October and Australia's cyclists racing in Europe began to compete in the race. The resulting rise in the event's standard saw the race become rated by the UCI for the first time in 2005. Several notable Australian cyclists have won the General classification including Stuart O'Grady in 2008, Baden Cooke in 2002, Neil Stephens in 1986, and Russell Mockridge in 1957.
The 2004 race was conducted from 14 to 24 October 2004 and involved 85 cyclists in seventeen teams of five. Thirteen stages were completed with a total distance of 1110.7 km, 119 intermediate sprints and 37 hill climbs, including the two category one climbs of Mount Baw Baw and in the Otway Ranges. Swedish rider Jonas Ljungblad won the General classification in the time of 26 hr 39 min 55 sec. Karl Menzies won the sprint classification and Phillip Thuaux won the Mountains classification.
After the 2009 race, the organisers of the Herald Sun Tour proposed moving the race from its traditional October date to February, with no edition in 2010. Cycling Australia approved the move, but in the face of opposition from the UCI, the plans never came to fruition. In the end, the 2010 race was "held over" due to the 2010 UCI Road World Championships being held in Geelong and Melbourne, and the race returned to the calendar in October 2011.
Read more about this topic: Herald Sun Tour
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