- by Marianne Werz Obrien

2004 Women’s Road World Cup

WC #1 – February 29: Geelong, Australia

First run in 1998, this is one of the oldest events in the women’s World Cup. The 119 km course consists of 17 laps around a seven-kilometer circuit that winds its way along the picturesque Geelong Waterfront.

The Geelong World Cup is the first of nine World Cup races that determine the overall winner of the Women’s World Cup. As with the men’s World Cup series, points are assigned after each race and tallied as the series progresses. The women’s point structure differs from the men’s. For the women points are awarded to the first 20 riders in each race. The point structure is 75 for first place, 50 for second, 35 for third, and then 30, 27, 24, 21, 18, 15, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 for the remaining 17 riders.

Last year Welsh wonder Nicole Cooke won the overall World Cup. Unfortunately she is not contesting this race, however last years Geelong WC winner Sara Carrigan is here to defend her title.  So are Katie Mactier & Judith Arndt who placed 2nd & 3rd respectively. And Mirjam Melcher’s who has been on the podium here three of the last four years.

Last year’s winner of the Geelong WC, Sara Carrigan (AUS – Queensland Academy of Sport) just finished 6th overall in the Geelong Tour. A strong rider in the one-day classics Sara also placed third in 2003’s WC Castille y Leon.  Taking 2nd in last years WC Geelong was Katie Mactier (AUS – Jayco) who is ranked 10th in UCI. She won the 1st stage Time Trial in the Geelong Tour, and placed 2nd in the overall GC. Third place finisher Judith Arndt has made the podium of World Cup races five times in her career, with one WC race win – 2001 Rotterdam.

Petra Rossner (GER – Team Nurnberger) has just become the first non-Australian to win a stage in the Geelong Tour, an unexpected early season victory that should serve to motivate her team for the race. She has the record for the most World Cup race wins (7), and in 2002 she won the World Cup overall. 

Already in 2004 Oenone Wood (AUS – AIS) has won the Geelong tour, the Canberra tour and both the National Individual Time Trial and the National Road Race. Wood will go into Sunday's World Cup event as the favorite Aussie following her sensational win in the Geelong Tour. It is interesting to note also that Australians have won 4 of the 6 World Cups on their native soil.

The strongest teams in the race are Team Nürnberger, AIS Australia, T-Mobile, JAYCO, and the WORLD TEAM.

Team Nürnberger has both Judith Arndt & Petra Rossner supported by Trixi Worrack (who took 3rd in 2001’s WC Fleche Wallone) and Margaret Hemsley.  AIS Australia is home to Oenone Wood, & Olivia Gollan. T-Mobile has the only American woman to win a WC race, Dede Barry, and she has won two. In 1998 she won WC Australia, and came in 3rd in the overall World Cup. In 2002 she took WC Montreal. Dede is one of the two non-Aussie winners of the Australian WC, the other is German Petra Rossner!

In addition to Dede Barry T-Mobile has brought out all the heavy hitters: Kristen Armstrong, the highest ranked American in UCI WC points, she is a strong time trialist and ought to be considered a wild card threat if she makes it into the final break.  Amber Neben 2003’s US National RR Champion, and winner of the four stage Tour du Grand Montreal.  Kimberly Bruckner, Lynn Gaggioli, and Stacy Peters round out the team.

JAYCO has Katie Mactier and Tina Mayalo-Pic. US National Crit Champion Mayolo-Pic was the top ranked American rider in the National Racing Calendar last year. The World Team has Mirjam Melchers and Nicole Freedman. Nicole Freedman (USA) came in 3rd on the third stage of the Geelong Tour.

Please visit the official race website here.

Australian Round Results

Year  Location     (First, Second, Third)

1998  Sydney WC    D DEMET (USA), P Schuster (USA), E Tadich (AUS)

1999  Canberra WC  A WILSON (AUS), H Kupfernagel (GER), S Symington (GBR)

2000  Canberra WC  A WILSON (AUS), M Van Melis (NED), M Melchers (NED)

2001  Canberra WC  A MILLWARD (AUS), M Melchers (NED), R Gilmore (AUS)

2002  Thredbo WC   P ROSSNER (GER), R Gilmore (AUS), M Melchers (NED)

2003  Geelong WC   S CARRIGAN (AUS), K Mactier (AUS), J ARNDT (GER)

Geelong Women's World Cup startlist

QUEENSLAND ACADEMY OF SPORT       

1 Sara Carrigan                   

2 Jennifer Findlay                

3 Anna Perrin                      

4 Candice Sullivan                

AIS AUSTRALIA                                   

11 Olivia Gollan

12 Natalie Bates

13 Lorian Graham

14 Amy Safe

15 Naomi Williams

16 Oenone Wood

TEAM NÜRNBERGER                   

21 Judith Arndt                   

22 Margaret Hemsley               

23 Madelaine Lindberg             

24 Jessica Phillips               

25 Petra Rossner                  

26 Trixi Worrack                  

Team S A T S

31 Rochelle Gilmore

32 Emma James

33 Manon Jutras

34 Meredith Miller

35 Karina Sorensen

36 Sara Symington

TEAM - T MOBILE TTF               

41 Kristin Armstrong              

42 Dierdre Barry                  

43 Kimberley Bruckner             

44 Lynn Gaggioli                  

45 Amber Neben                    

46 Stacey Peters

GREAT BRITAIN                                

51 Emma Davies

52 Nina Davies

53 Charlotte Goldsmith

54 Caroline James

55 Frances Newstead

UKRAINE                           

61 Iryna Chuzhynova               

62 Valentyna Karpenko             

63 Kateryna Krasova               

64 Oxana Kashchyshyna             

65 Iryna Simonova                 

66 Tatana Stiajkina               

FRF COURIERS

71 Laura Bortolozzi

72 Natasha Harrigan

73 Kate Nichols

74 Christine Riakos

75 Jessica Ridder

76 Zoe Southwell

NSW INSTITUTE of SPORT            

81 Leonie Aisbett                 

82 Katherine Bates                

83 Katie Brown                    

84 Jessie Maclean                 

85 Alexis Rhodes                   

86 Caitlin Fraser

JAPAN

91 Miyoko Karami

92 Akemi Morimoto

93 Miho Oki

94 Ayumu Otsuka

95 Hiroko Shimada

NEW ZEALAND                       

101 Johanna Buick                 

102 Melissa Holt                  

103 Joanne Kiesanowski             

104 Susy Pryde                    

105 Rosalind Reekie - May         

106 Sarah Ulmer                   

TEAM AVANTI

111 Nadine Boyle

112 Toni Bradshaw

113 Michelle Kiesanowski

114 Kirsty Robb

115 Susie Wood

116 Michelle Hyland

BODY TORQUE                        

121 Linda Capello                 

122 Kerryn Charman                

123 Cristine Foster               

124 Karen Hopkinson               

125 Jenny Macpherson              

126 Narrelle Peterson

THE FREEDOM MACHINE

131 Kirsty Bortilin

132 Bridgett Evans

133 Louisa Judd

134 Emma Rickards

135 Kathy Watt

JAYCO                             

141 Belinda Goss                  

142 Helen Kelly                   

143 Katie Mactier                 

144 Tina Mayola Pic               

145 Elizabeth Williams            

146 Louise Yaxley                 

WORLD TEAM

151 Nicole Freedman

152 Tanja Hennes

153 Mirjam Melchers

154 Emi Onoyama

155 Julie Pekarkova

156 Desiree Schuler

NOBILI - FANINI MIXED TEAM        

161 Cathy Marsal                   

162 Hayley Rutherford             

163 Kim Shirley                   

164 Alison Wright                 

SWISS

171 Alexandra Born

172 Priska Doppmann

173 Sarah Grab

174 Bettina Kuhn