New dates for Melbourne to Warrnambool Cycling Festival after Otways blaze

"Part of our course goes very close, if not right through, that area."

Author

Staff Writer
February 03, 2026

As the catastrophic bushfires tore through the Otways a week ago, the organiser of the annual Melbourne to Warrnambool Cycling Festival, Karin Jones, had to think fast.

Plans for the 131-year-old race - originally slated to be held on February 14 and 15 - had been locked down months in advance: a 267km test of endurance and skill for men, starting in Avalon in Melbourne and ending on Warrnambool's Raglan Parade opposite the Golden Arches; a 160km Colac to Warrnambool race for women; and the Legends of Cycling Dinner.

Posters printed, socials sorted, media managed, accommodation arranged, bollards booked.

But as the Otways burned, Jones knew there was no way she could predict the future and simply press on.

"Part of our course goes very close, if not right through, that area," she told the West Vic Brolga.

"With all the emergency services using those roads, and the accommodation situation in Colac [where residents were evacuated] ... you get these things, and you adjust. It does take a lot more organising."

What’s next: The festival is now scheduled for February 28 (women's event) and March 1 (men's event).

Jones, who had just returned from the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, said the new dates don't clash with other events.

Catch up on history: The Melbourne to Warrnambool cycle race began in 1895.

It changed direction - Warrnambool to Melbourne - for the next 42 years before reverting to its original format.

Organisers say the 267km race, which traverses rural and coastal land, has a reputation for "gruelling length and ruthless crosswinds".

Weather always a factor: Jones said the cyclists' arrival times into Warrnambool are impossible to predict with any certainty, as it depends on wind, weather and tactics employed by the riders.

A giant screen on Raglan Parade will show the final hours of the race from 12pm and at about 3pm, give or take, cyclists should be sprinting towards the finishing line. Locals can listen to hourly updates on 3YB FM.