CADEL Howie is preparing to live every young cyclist’s dream.
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The soon-to-be Warrnambool College student will ride alongside his idol and namesake, Australian great Cadel Evans.
Howie was one of 12 budding riders picked to share a special moment with the Tour de France winner as part of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road race.
The Port Fairy Cycling Club nominated Howie, 12, to be part of a two-kilometre lead-out with Evans prior to the January 28 UCI-ranked men’s elite race.
Howie, who bumped into Evans at Melbourne Airport last year en route to a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Nepal and the Mount Everast base camp, said he was excited to spend quality time with his sporting hero.
“This time I can actually ask him a couple of questions instead of just saying hello,” he said.
“I can actually have a proper conversation. How long have you been cycling for, that would be one (question to ask), and when was your first big race, so a couple of those sorts of questions.”
Howie, who graduated from Warrnambool Primary School in December, suspects his name helped catch the attention of selectors.
“He wasn’t really famous when I was born, so it was just a bit of luck,” he said.
“He is the only Australian to ever win the Tour de France (that’s why he’s my favourite cyclist).”
Howie, a twin and one of four siblings, has been cycling for two-and-a-half-years.
He rides most days, making the most of the areas around his Tower Hill home, and considers endurance one of his strengths.