Top Italian pro team to Wellington - Champion returns to defend title
Tuesday 15 February 2011, 6:21AM
By Tour of Wellington
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Defending champion, American rider Shelley Olds is set to return to next week’s NZCT Women’s Tour of New Zealand. Olds won four of the six stages in 2010 as well as the general classification riding for the USA national team.
She is returning as a member of the highly acclaimed Italian women’s professional team Diadora-Pasta Zara whose team manager Manel Lacambra has been here twice with two overall victories so far and the NZCT Women’s tour of New Zealand will be the team first UCI official race for 2011.
“In the past 15 years the Diadora-Pasta Zara team had lots of success and gained lots of national titles, world titles and even Olympic titles. The team also won several overall World Cups, the Tour de France, the Giro Donne, European Championships and many more, I am sure they are coming here to add another victory” Sandoval said.
This is a major coup for the event organisers in having one of the best European teams in the race, this squad looks likely to push the number one team in the world already announced Team HTC Highroad, the NZCT New Zealand national team and the strong Australian teams, but tour director, Jorge Sandoval, is also delighted to have teams from China, Japan.
“The Chinese and Japan teams all have Olympic representatives looking to make an impression here,” Sandoval said. “With the number and standard of the Australian riders plus the top European pro teams, it ensures the NZCT tour continues to grow in terms of its international profile. All the hard work we have done in the last few years to make people aware of the tour, and the standard of racing, is paying off.”
The Team Diadora –Pasta Zara obviously has defending champion Shelley Olds as their main rider to win overall, her 2011 season already started really well with a win in the Grand Prix Vila de Parets in Spain two weeks ago but other riders in the team are also capable of a victory. Ukrainian Alona Andruck who will arrive in New Zealand this week to train around the Wairarapa is a strong rider; she won the 2011 G.P. Citta Novi in Italy and place in other major races in the European circuit.
Australian cyclist Rachel Neylan joins the Geox-Pasta Zara women’s team only this year. The deal comes off the back of a difficult month for Neylan, who was forced out of the Australian squad for the UCI Road World Championships in Geelong after suffering a serious accident at a training camp in Italy weeks before. “I am really looking forward to the opportunity to race in a world class team also to be able to continue my development and step up [to the] professional ranks of women’s cycling as I progress toward my ever increasingly clear goals,”
Top American Amber Pierce is another member of the team, winner of races in Germany and Austria in 2010 is a good all round rider.
Race Director Jorge Sandoval says they'll be the team to watch for the general classification.
"With Shelley Olds and Amber Pierce in the team, they have two potential tour winners. Unfortunately for them, there will be some other top riders who will do anything possible to win the race, especially the Australian national team and the HTC Highroad teams so they have to be very alert over the five day race,” Sandoval said.
The tour starts on Wednesday February 23 with a stage from Martinborough to Masterton and finishes with the Wellington Criterium on Sunday 23rd February at 2pm.
www.cycletournz.com
Start List 2011 NZCT Women’s Tour of NZ
23 to 27 February 2011 – UCI 2.2
Team Diadora-Pasta Zara - Italy
1 Shelley Olds USA
2 Amber Pierce USA
3 Rachel Neylan Australia
4 Alona Andruk Ukraine
Giant Pro Cycling Team – China
7 Meng Lang China
8 Luo Xiao Ling China
9 Gu Hui Li China
10 Shi Li Na China
11 Huang Li China
12 Zhao Na China
HTC Highroad Women - USA
13 Judith Arndt Germany
14 Ina- Yoko Teutenberg Germany
15 Amber Neben USA
16 Chloe Hosking Australia
17 Ally Stacher USA
18 Amanda Miller USA
Japan National Team
19 Mayuko Hagiwara Japan
20 Harigai Chisako Japan
21 Myochin Yuko Japan
22 Uwano Minami Japan
TDT RACE - Australia
25 Chloe McConville Australia
26 Clare Dallat Ireland
27 Sarah Riley Australia
28 Amy Bradley Australia
29 Delphine Astier France
30 Myfanwy Galloway Australia
Team Jayco - AIS – Australian National Team
31 Ruth Corset Australia
32 Gillow Shara Australia
33 Lauren Kitchen Australia
34 Amanda Spratt Australia
35 Alex Carle Australia
36 Carly Light Australia
Prime State Team - Australia
37 Rebecca Locke Australia
38 Nicole Whitburn Australia
39 Naomi Williams Australia
40 Ingrid Trotter Australia
NZCT Team
43 Janine Copp New Zealand
44 Anna Kauffmann Australia
45 Laura Medley Australia
46 Genevieve Whitson Australia
47 Rachel Doody New Zealand
48 Philippa Sutton New Zealand
NZCT New Zealand National Team
49 Catherine Cheatley New Zealand
50 Linda Villumsen New Zealand
51 Melanie Burke New Zealand
52 Courteney Lowe New Zealand
53 Melisa Holt New Zealand
54 Kate Chilcott New Zealand
Cyclosport NZ
55 Emma Crum New Zealand
56 Tracy Best New Zealand
57 Emily Collins New Zealand
58 Corrine Smith New Zealand
59 Emma Grant England
Team Orbea NZ
61 Sia Svendsen New Zealand
62 Donna Sibley New Zealand
63 Sarah Smallman New Zealand
64 Aimee Burns New Zealand
65 Amanda Minty New Zealand
66 Josie Gidden New Zealand
Team Mini NZ
67 Serena Sheridan New Zealand
68 Paula McCoy New Zealand
69 Rachel Larner New Zealand
70 Jeanne Kuhajek New Zealand
71 Gayle Brownlee New Zealand
72 Naila Hassan New Zealand
Armstrong Motor Group NZ
73 Zoe Watters Australia
74 Ashleigh Neave New Zealand
75 Maddison Vit Australia
76 Shanice Nitis Australia
77 Orlic Nikolina Australia
Jayco/VIS
79 Joanne Hogan Australia
86 Bridie O’Donnell Australia
87 Kendelle Hodge Australia
88 Lisa Jacobs Australia