The Australian state of Victoria aims to host a one-day event in tribute to Tour de France champion Cadel Evans, with its first edition to be held in 2015 season and situated in the race calendar between the Santos Tour Down Under and Herald Sun Tour.

The Victorian Major Events Company is in talks with the UCI in order to secure a spot on the 2015 calendar for the one-day race, which should immediately follow the season’s inaugural WorldTour event, the Santos Tour Down Under. This way, organizers of the Cadel Evans tribute race are hoping to attract major WorldTour and professional teams to participate in the event from its first edition as well as encourage classics specialists in likes of Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) or tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) to visit Australian continent in January.

“It would be great for the sport and would add to the Tour Down Under, which is a fantastic event,” Cycling Australia president Gerry Ryan said, according to Herald Sun.

“The more people see of that level (WorldTour) in Australia, the better.”

“But I’d like to see a women’s event as well and I’ve spoken to the Tour Down Under and Victoria to say, ‘don’t forget the women’, and I’d like to see a (women’s) event.”

“And I’ve met with Victoria and the TDU to say ‘let’s get a women’s race as well’.”

The idea of creating the ‘Cadel Evans Classic’, combined with a similar even for women,  is backed by the Cycling Australia and initially expected to take place in the Geelong region near Barwon Heads, where former Tour de France champion lives while staying in Australia, and be held over 100 to 200 km.

According to Australian media, organizers are bidding for the WorldTour or at least UCI 1.HC status for the one-day event, guaranteeing 70 per cent of WorldTour squads in a line up.

“We give our tick of approval for a one-day classic, it was never going to be a tour,” Ryan said.

Evans’ victory at the 2011 Tour de France significantly increased sport’s popularity in Australia and the state of Victoria aims to use this positive trend by organizing the classic race, hoping to attract other local heroes in likes of this season’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege and 2013 Milano-Sanremo champion Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEDGE).