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February 27, 2005
New dates announced!
The Geelong Tour for 2006 will be held from February 21-23, 2006
Full details will be announced soon.
Gilmore claims opening World Cup honours
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Sydney's Rochelle Gilmore has claimed opening World Cup honours with victory in round one in Geelong.
The 23 year old, riding for the New South Wales Institute of Sport team, outsprinted defending World Cup Series champion and 2004 Geelong round winner, Oenone Wood, 24, (Team Nurnberger) with Katherine Bates (Ton van Bemmelen) coming home third to give Australia a clean sweep of the podium. 93 riders from 16 countries started the race including the reigning World Champion, Judith Arndt of Germany (Team Nurnberger) and Olympic Champion Sara Carrigan (Ton van Bemmelen).
"I've got one person to thank and that's Warren McDonald - the national women's road coach," said Gilmore after being presented with the World Cup Series leader's jersey. "Warren picked me up when I was at rock bottom and I'm so grateful for that."
Gilmore was keen to make a winning statement today after last week missing out on selection in the Australian team to contest the upcoming track World Championships in Los Angeles.
"I wanted to win the scratch race at the World Championships," said Gilmore who failed to convince selectors at last week's Sydney Track World Cup but turned the disappointment into motivation for today. "I won't have that opportunity and it was a real wakeup call.
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"I guess things worked out well with not getting selected for the Worlds because I can just concentrate on the road," said Gilmore who will travel to New Zealand this week to contest round two next Sunday in Wellington. "I couldn't not now could I, with the jersey!
"I'm heading overseas straight after NZ to Safi, the team I rode with in 2003 and I'm looking forward to teaming up with Nicole Cooke (British star and past World Cup Champion) and taking on the world again."
The race was contested over eight laps of the picturesque 14.9km circuit out and back from the Geelong Waterfront for a total distance of 119km.
The only threatening break of the day formed midway through the race when Amy Gillett (AIS), Tanja Hennes-Smidt (GER - Buitenpoort - Flexpoint) and Jenny MacPherson (AUS - Jayco VIS) established a lead of just over a minute but Wood's Nurnberger team mates worked hard to chase them down. The effort however took it's toll with Olivia Gollan (AUS) and Madaleine Lindberg (SWE) both retiring with one lap to go. The tactic played into Gilmore's hands at the finish line.
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"It was a calculated risk - that was their job for the day and they chased back a pretty important break," said Wood who despite this had team mates Arndt and Trixi Worrack on the front with two kilometres remaining in a bid to set Wood up for the final sprint. "I was sitting second wheel in the last corner and I hoped the girl in front of me (two time World Champion Suzanne Ljungskog of Sweden) would stay out there a bit longer but I was in a position where I had to go early because riders started to come around."
Wood was forced to start her sprint at 500 metres to go, far earlier than she usually would.
"At 200 to go I was thinking 'I hope I can hang on to this'," said Wood. "I knew there were about five girls behind me, I knew someone was there.
"So - next week."
Into the finishing straight Bates was also blazing a trail vying with Wood and was a little disappointed to concede placings to both her and Gilmore.
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"When you are so close to the win you really want it but I'm going away satisfied," said Bates. "It was pretty crazy in the last few kilometres and a lot of girls went from about 500m out.
"Rochelle was smart and looked after herself to pop around Oenone and I," Bates explained. "If I had better bike skills I would sneak through at the end too because I would get through those corners better."
Gilmore's strategy paid off as she accelerated out of Wood's slipstream with 50 metres to go and cruised to a clear victory in a time of 3hr11min26sec.
The riders now head to New Zealand for next Sunday's round two in Wellington where Gilmore will be hoping to increase her lead in the eleven race series.
Olympic podium on show in Geelong
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(February 16, 2005) The top four finishers from the Athens Olympic Games women's road race will line up in Geelong for the opening round of the International Cycling Union's (UCI) Road World Cup on Sunday February 27 and the preceding Geelong Tour being raced from February 22nd to 24th.
The World Cup is the prestige series of the women's cycling international calendar and will feature 92 riders from 16 countries in hard fought race over 119.2km (8 laps x 14.9km). The World Cup start/finish line is in Brougham Street, Geelong and the race will start at 10.00am.
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Meet the Stars The stars of the Geelong World Cup will attend a launch at Westfield Bay City on Friday February 25th from 5.30 to 7.00pm. Carrigan, Wood, Arndt, Bates and a host of other top riders will be there to sign autographs and meet their fans. |
Headlining the entry list is Athens Olympic road race champion, Queensland's Sara Carrigan, Olympic silver medallist and reigning world champion, Judith Arndt of Germany, Olympic points race gold medallist and road race bronze medallist, Olga Slyusareva of Russia and the defending World Cup Series champion and Australian time trial champion, Canberra's Oenone Wood who placed fourth in the road race in Athens.
Wood claimed line honours in Geelong last year and performed consistently throughout the season to clinch the Series crown but Carrigan, the 2003 Geelong World Cup winner, is fired up for success.
"Wow!," said Carrigan. "It's pretty cool to have such top riders out here for the race and I'm really looking forward to it."
The Athens golden girl, who recently tried her hand on the track and took silver in the individual pursuit at the Australian Championships, says she has had no trouble re focussing after her year of Olympic success.
"I haven't had any motivation problems because I had a huge break of two and a half months after the Olympics and I was really keen to get back into it by then," she explained. "Mentally and physically that was the right thing to do after such an emotional experience."
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Carrigan will debut with the Dutch Tom van Bemmelen professional team in Geelong after signing on to join the team that also boasts Sydney sisters Kate and Natalie Bates. Kate was last weekend named Champion of Champions at the Australian Track Cycling Championships in Adelaide after winning three gold from her three starts in the points race, scratch race and individual pursuit.
Wood, along with Newcastle's Olivia Gollan, has joined the German registered Team Nurnberger where Arndt will now be a team mate instead of rival.
The Geelong UCI Women's World Cup is proudly supported by the Victorian Government and the City of Greater Geelong.
Startlists announced.
Startlists for the 2005 Geelong UCI Women's World Cup have been announced and can be found here
