Teutenberg  wins Geelong World Cup

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Star studded field for Geelong World Cup and Tour

15 February 2006: A star studded line up of international cycling talent, including the world's top three ranked cyclists, will line up in Geelong to contest the opening round of the 2006  UCI Women's Road Cycling World Cup Series and the preceding Geelong Tour.

The World Cup round will be raced from 10am on Sunday February 26th with 139 riders representing 17 nations contesting 119.2km (8 laps of the 14.9km circuit) in a bid to become the first cyclist of 2006 to wear the World Cup Leader's Jersey. The field is the largest ever assembled for the opening round of the World Cup.

The week prior to the World Cup the women will race in the three day, four stage Geelong Tour.

Headlining the start list is world ranked number one cyclist, Oenone Wood, from Canberra who has claimed the Series Crown for the past two years and is fine tuning her preparation for the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. Wood, who won the Geelong round in 2004, rides with the world's top ranked team Nurnberger. The team will also include new recruit, Australia's Kate Bates, who was recently crowned Australian Road Race Champion.

2004 World Champion, Judith Arndt of Germany returns to Geelong as the world ranked number three but this time with her new T-Mobile Team. Joining her in the team is four time American Champion Kimberly Bruckner-Baldwin and ten time German champion, Ina Teutenberg. The Univega Pro Team boasts 2002 Comonweatlh Games road race gold medallist, Nicole Cooke. The Welsh rider also claimed the silver medal at the World Championships in Madrid in 2005. New Zealand's reigning points race champion on the track, Joanne Kiesanowski is also on the Univega roster.

Back in a bid to defend her 2005 Geelong victory is NSW cyclist Rochelle Gilmore who's team will also boast Commonwealth Games mountain biker, Emma Colson.  Two time World Champion (2002-2003) and currently world ranked number two, Susanne Ljungskog of Sweden will be looking for early season form and points after her 2005 efforts saw her finish second overall in the Series behind Wood.

Japan's Miho Oki, who placed third in the 2004 Geelong World Cup will join Australian Olivia Gollan in the Italian registered Nobili Rubinetterie team. Athens Olympic Champion, Sara Carrigan will line up in QAS colours this year while Barcelona Olympic Champion, Kathy Watt will have support from fellow Commonwealth Games team member, mountain biker, Claire Baxter in the Eunectes team.

2004 Olympic points race champion and bronze medallist in the road race Olga Slyusareva heads the Russian team which makes its Geelong debut in 2006. Another Olympic gold medallist, Sarah UImer, will also line up in Geelong. The Athens individual pursuit champion and world record holder will race with New Zealand as she finalises her preparation for the Commonwealth Games where she is targetting the road time trial.

The riders will kick off their Australian campaign in the Geelong Tour which begins on February 21st  with an 8km time trial at Portarlington before a 30 lap criterium later in the day. Stage 3 takes the race to Barwon Heads for five laps of a scenic 15 kilometre circuit along the Barwon Coast. The final day of the race is a testing 113km course out and back from the town of Lara and includes a tough climb up Mt Wallace at the halfway mark of the stage.

World Cup comes to Geelong for fourth time

Geelong will play host to the opening round of the UCI Women’s Road Cycling World Cup for the fourth successive year when the world’s best elite women cyclists line up on the Geelong Waterfront on February 26. The race starts at 10am.

The 2005 race boasted the Olympic, World and World Cup Series champions in the starting list and 2006 promises to again showcase the outstanding talent in the women’s professional ranks.

The peloton will contest eight laps of a tough 15km circuit for a total race distance of 120 kilometres. They will race out along the picturesque Geelong Waterfront before heading west of the City of Greater Geelong that provides spectacular scenery for the fans but no rest for the riders.

Geelong is the largest regional centre in the State of Victoria, situated approximately 75km south west of the state capital Melbourne on the shores of Corio Bay.

Australia has hosted a round of the World Cup every year since its inception.

2006 UCI Women's World Cup 

Sunday, February 26: Womens World Cup - Geelong, Australia
Sunday, March 5: New Zealand World Cup, New Zealand
Saturday, March 18: Primavera Rosa, Italy
Sunday, April 2: Ronde van Vlaanderen / Tour des Flandres, Belgium
Wednesday, April 19: La Flèche Wallonne, Belgium
Sunday, April 23: Berner-Rundfahrt / Tour de Berne, Switzerland
Sunday, May 7: Gran Premio Castilla y Leon, Spain
Saturday, May 27: La Coupe du Monde Cycliste Féminine de Montréal, Canada
Friday, July 28: Open de Suède Vargarda, Sweden
Sunday, July 30: L'Heure D'Or Féminine / The Ladies Golden Hour, Denmark
Saturday, August 26: GP de Plouay, France
Sunday, September 3: Lowland International Rotterdam Tour, Netherlands
Sunday, September 10: Rund um die Nürnberger Altstadt, Germany

Points towards the overall World Cup Series crown are awarded to the first 20 riders in each round.

Points towards an individual's world ranking are awarded to the first 50 riders in each round with additional points awarded to riders ranked in the top ten overall at the completion of the World Cup Series.