A NEW book about Sir Bruce Small is set to shine the spotlight on Wangaratta's part in his extraordinary life journey through sport and politics.

Sir Bruce built the Malvern Star bicycle brand from one store in Melbourne into a household name, becoming a pioneer of Australian cycling through his mentorship and management of scores of famous cycling champions including Rochester-born icon Hubert 'Oppy' Opperman.

After retiring to Surfers Paradise, he became famous all over again as the colourful mayor known as Mr Gold Coast.

Rachel Syers' official biography 'Sir Bruce Small: From Malvern Star to Mr Gold Coast' reveals fascinating details of Sir Bruce's life, from touring the world with Oppy to find fame in France and win 'The Ashes of cycling' in the UK, to travelling to towns all over Australia and New Zealand with his promotional team of meter maids and bikini models to draw holidaymakers to the Gold Coast.

Rachel said Sir Bruce's visit to Wangaratta in the 1960s with his bikini-clad promotional assistants was a great example of why he was known as a 'messiah of tourism'.

"He toured from Tasmania to Tokyo selling the beach lifestyle of the Gold Coast, and was heralded for sparking the tourist boom that transformed Surfers Paradise from a seaside haven into a tourist mecca," Rachel said.

Sir Bruce came to Wangaratta in 1969 with his group of Gold Coast bikini models during a country tour that also took in Bendigo, Geelong, Colac, Shepparton, Warrnambool and Albury.

"Wangaratta seniors are going to love reminiscing over how their town was involved in the Sir Bruce Small story, while the younger generation will no doubt learn some surprising town history in terms of famous cycling races and tourism," Rachel said.

She said one of the famous races mentioned in the book was the Wangaratta To Melbourne held in the 1920s, which drew huge crowds along the roadside cheering Oppy and the other cyclists on towards the finish line.

Rachel expects that everyone from cycling buffs to those who rode a cool Malvern Star as a kid will enjoy the comprehensive history on the Malvern Star brand and its champion riders, covering how Bruce Small became manager to world cycling icon Oppy, and their life-long partnership that became legendary in Australian sport.

"The historic part Wangaratta and all the regional towns play in this book is really quite remarkable considering Sir Bruce and Oppy were world famous and travelled the globe more than a dozen times," Rachel said.

Rachel spent years conducting research for the book, including 100 personal interviews with family and friends, world champions and political leaders who knew Sir Bruce best.

She believes a huge variety of readers will enjoy the 260 stunning photos from a bygone era and the many untold details finally recorded for history to acknowledge - from seniors who lived in the era of Sir Bruce Small, through to younger readers eager to learn the moments in history relating to their parents, grandparents and many home towns and local associations that played a part in the story.

The biography was officially released on Thursday, and will soon be available locally through Edgars Books and News, and Booktique.

For more information, visit www.sirbrucesmall.com.au