Top Australian Women Ridersto Race NZCT Women’s Tour

A record number of Australians have been confirmed to contest Oceania’s only women’s international road cycling tour in Wellington, Wairarapa and the Manawatu later this month.

Race director Jorge Sandoval announced today that 34 riders from across the Tasman will line up for the New Zealand Community Trust women’s tour of New Zealand from Wednesday February 23 to Sunday February 27. It is a UCI registered event.

Sandoval said among the Australian squads entered were those involving their national road team, Australian Institute of Sport academies in Queensland and Victoria, two semi-professional outfits, and 10 other riders were coming as individuals, who would be found places in composite teams.

Leading the Australian national team is accomplished hill climber and mother, Ruth Corset, a professional with the USA’s high profile TIBCO team. Corset, a 29-year-old Queenslander, was her country’s national road champion last year, and has earned a string of victories in Europe and the United States. Team-mate Amanda Spratt is a former junior world champion and has collected Oceania and Australian titles, often as a result of her ability to excel in bunch sprint finishes. Supporting them will be the emerging talents of Lauren Kitchen, Australian criterium champion Carly Light, Shara Gillow and Alex Carle.

“To have such strength from Australia is great for the tour, and with the riders have competed fulltime for the last month they will arrive race-fit,” Sandoval said. “They will be tough opposition for the highly-fancied Team HTC Highroad.”

The NZCT sponsored event starts on Wednesday February 23 with a stage from Martinborough to Masterton via Kourarau Hill, followed by a 114km stage from Masterton to Palmerston over the Pahiatua Track. The riders will complete three more stages over the next two days including one of 120km from Palmerston North back to Masterton, and the finale occurs on February 27 with a one-hour criterium in inner Wellington on a circuit on Lambton Quay, starting at 2.30pm.