The "Obscure Pro"

[ColinOldnCranky]

The Tour Downunder spawned the Obscure Pro years back. It was so much a fit for Australian larrikinism.

I haven't seen anything about the "Obscure Pro" in the tour down under for a few years yet. The last reference I can easily find is in relation to the 2012 tour.

Does it still exist?

Is there a record somewhere of who they were? The story of how it came into being?

Has any other Tour or Tour location taken up the same thing?

[Sharkey]

From my fading memory the Port Adelaide Cycling club started it in 2010 and I thought it was a reaction to Lance Armstrong getting all the media attention as this was his comeback event. Arthur Vichot was the rider selected and it went viral.

The Wikipedia entry on the Tour Down Under lists each year's Obscure Pros which suggests it was still going in 2016, but not sure beyond that:
Tour Down Under - Obscure Pro - Wikipedia

Here is an interesting article about it:
USA Today -Campaign turns obscure French cyclist into a star

And there was a thread on this forum, although the links within appear to be dead:
BNA Forums - Arthur Vichot - TDU rider going viral