The scene of the fatal hit and run on Geelong-Ballan Road, in Anakie. Credit:Nine News "[The driver] has been throwing objects [at] cyclists...there has been no injury to any of them. That's an avenue of inquiry we are making, whether this was a deliberate act." The cyclist, who died on Sunday on Geelong-Ballan Road, was married with children, and was described by Sergeant Patrick as a "retired, very fit, elderly gentleman who enjoyed his bike riding". "That's what he did in his spare time," Sergeant Patrick said. The cyclist, whose name has not yet been released by police, was lawfully riding south on Geelong-Ballan Road near Anakie, heading in the direction of his home in Corio about 2.40pm.

The vehicle was travelling behind the cyclist, before it struck the bike's wheel, Sergeant Patrick said. He said the "forceful bump" propelled both the cyclist and his bike into the air. The bike landed in a paddock 15 metres away from the road, while the rider landed even further away. "That car didn't stop, it continued on in southerly direction," Sergeant Patrick said. "The debris located on the road indicates the front left passenger side of the vehicle [would] have sustained damage, maybe a [broken] headlight and side mirror." The man driving the car is believed to be aged between 20 and 30, with dark hair.

Sergeant Patrick said the driver made no apparent attempt to stop. There were no skid marks on the road, he said. "The car continued on without any concern for the consequences...there is no way the person would not have known there was an impact. [It would have been] impossible not to realise the collision had occurred." The cyclist's family contacted police after he did not return home at an appropriate hour. Police confirmed the worst about 8.30pm. Sergeant Patrick said the grieving family was "distraught". "The man goes on a leisurely bike ride on Mother's Day and doesn't come home," he said.

Sergeant Patrick said cyclists were often seen as a "soft target" on the roads. "It's about preservation. If you ride safely there is not much you can do if someone wants to run you over deliberately, or if drivers don't pay attention, there is not much you can do...you are a soft, vulnerable target," he said. He urged cyclists to wear helmets, ensure they have appropriate lighting and reflective gear and obey traffic control signals. Sergeant Patrick also said it was crucial drivers remembered that "cyclists are entitled to use the road". The cycling community in Geelong has been left reeling after the tragic incident, Geelong Cycling Club president John Burtt said. Mr Burtt said the death had touched a nerve in the community, because the cyclist was riding in the same area where well-known Geelong cyclist, Ross Bush, died in a cycling accident 15 years ago.

He said the group, which has more than 150 members, holds an annual race nearby as a tribute to Mr Bush. Mr Burtt said members of the group had stopped riding on Geelong-Ballan Road about six years ago after they deemed it unsafe for cyclists. He said the incident had left him "dry mouthed". "When people ask me if I worry about cars, my response is that every time I hear a car behind me, I wonder whether this is the last sound I will hear. In this case, it was. It's pretty sobering." Local cyclists said children and elderly riders were often picked on by drivers.

Avid 15-year-old local cyclist Molly Briger said she has written to a couple of politicians advocating a "one metre rule" that would ensure drivers maintain a one-metre distance from cyclists. "When riders are hit, this will give them justice they deserve. At the moment, there are no laws to say, 'You hit a cyclist, you are responsible for it'. There is nothing to stop that, so this way, if a car hits a rider they get what they deserve." She said she has had many experiences where cars had tried to knock her and her brother off their bikes as they rode to school in the morning. "They try to knock you off your bikes; they stick their hands out of the window and yell things at you. It's obviously deliberate, it's not something they accidently did."