The Tour de France yellow jersey will turn to gold for Cadel Evans, who now stands to earn tens of millions of dollars in sponsorship and marketing deals.
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Evans's prize money of nearly $600,000 will soon be just pocket change, with sports management experts predicting he will attract a huge range of lucrative sponsorship and marketing offers.
"What he's done is something that stays with him for a lifetime and it has value to him for a lifetime," Deakin University's professor of sports management, David Shilbury, said.
"So in that context, it's tens of millions of dollars for his efforts."
The 2009 road race world champion now has an international profile, which significantly boosts his marketability, Professor Shilbury said.
"Yes he was a world champion, but in the sport of cycling the winner of the Tour de France is the king of the mountain, so to speak."
He said Evans, who is known to dedicate time and money to organisations including the Amy Gillett Foundation, may also choose to build his brand around charities.
The University of Technology's Associate Professor of sports management, Daryl Adair, said Evans - whose first name comes from the Welsh "cadell" meaning "battle" - would be attractive to sponsors because he had worked hard for his victory.
"He's proud, but he's not boastful; he's someone that competed for many, many years and came second or third .... but has stuck at it," Professor Adair said.
"He's the epitome of someone who just keeps on going, who keeps on keeping on.
"I think that sort of message would sit well with a whole variety of marketers and sponsors."
He said Evans could be used to boost the profile of cycling in Australia and help the government promote health and fitness.
With his "clean cut image", Evans might also be a good fit as the face of health supplements or men's grooming products, Professor Adair said.
Professor Shilbury said Evans's quiet personality meant there would be a careful matching process between sponsors and his management.
"The really important point here is he's going to have choices," he said.
But Professor Adair said Evans's reserved approach could prove to be beneficial because it did not offend anybody.
"He's very low on the wanker scale and I think that's really important.
"I think he may be reserved but he's not a big risk and you may find that now that he's won, we'll find out more about his personality.
"Now he's going to go on a whirlwind media tour, people are going to be chasing him, wanting his story.
"We'll know heaps more about Cadel Evans and he'll go down in the annals as one of the greatest ever Australian sportsmen.
"And on that basis, his marketability will just evolve, I think."
