WORLD road champion Cadel Evans was named the 2009 Australian Cyclist of the Year at a ceremony last week.

The 32-year-old  became only the second Australian cyclist to win the Sir Hubert Opperman medal for a third time in the 51-year history of the award.

He also won the medal in 2006 and 2007 and joined Peter Besanko, who received the highest honour in Australian cycling in 1979, 1981 and 1984.

Evans this year became the first Australian to win the elite men’s road race at the world championships in Switzerland.

He also wore the leader’s jersey on stage nine of this year’s Vuelta a Espana, in which he finished third overall.

From Barwon Heads on the Bellarine Peninsula near Geelong, Evans has a host of cyclists aiming to be just like him such as another Geelong cyclist Leigh Howard.