The name Tadej Pogacar might not mean too much to those outside the cycling world, but without a cyclist from Orange, the youngest Tour de France winner since 1904 might not have graced such great heights so early.
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Twenty-one-year-old Pogacar stunned the cycling world to win the most vaunted road cycling race this year, taking home the yellow, white and polka dot jerseys as best overall rider, best young rider (under 25) and best mountain rider respectively.
Orange cyclist Tim Guy - along with Muswelbrook's Ben Hill - played a crucial role in launching Pogacar's career.
Guy, who was signed with Slovenian cycling team Ljubljana, helped give the side their first continental racing fixture since 1949 by making his mental health advocacy company HeadCrack the team's major sponsor, giving it the green light to race around Europe.
"We were told we had to find international sponsors to get [Slovenian] government funding ... at the last minute I thought what if we use HeadCrack?"
He said HeadCrack was created to "tell my story" of struggling with anxiety and depression, with Slovenia somewhere mental health is often buried.
"There's no fix, no cure, but if I can tell some people about it and spread awareness that can help a lot of people," Guy said.
"Slovenia has ridiculously high suicide rates, with little mental health awareness.
"When we started riding cycling media and media generally reached out to do stories about it, and we got a few with mental health angles out of it."
Ljubljana Gusto Xaurum HeadCrack Team signed a teenager to lead the group through the peletons of Europe - Pogacar.
"Todaj is a really relaxed, friendly kid, two years ago with us he was a teenager," Guy said.
"He was quiet, reserved and always willing to give up his position to help someone else in the team.
"We already knew he was a freak and would win something big."
The experience of leading a team for nearly five years - starting at just 17 - meant Guy wasn't shocked by Pogacar's meteoric rise.
"Everyone was asking 'where's this kid come from?' but he'd placed in the Vuelta a Espana ... the signs were there," he said.
While Pogacar has moved on from Ljubljana - he now rides with UAE - Guy said he was still linked to a region halfway across the world.
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Max Stainkamph
Max joined the CWD in September 2017, leaving the big smoke of Melbourne to come to Orange, where he stayed until 2020.
Max joined the CWD in September 2017, leaving the big smoke of Melbourne to come to Orange, where he stayed until 2020.
