HTC-Highroad is sending a strong women's team of six riders to the Tour of New Zealand (February 23-27). TYhe team hopes for stage wins, and trying to get the team accustomed to each other - half of the team is made up of new signings for the 2011 season. HTC would also love to take the overall, hoping to unseat defending champion Shelley Olds.
There is a good mix of youth and seasoned riders in the HTC lineup. "We have some young riders with us, such as Amanda Miller and Ally Stacher, who are excited to start their season with us," says Sports Director Ronny Lauke. "But we also brought plenty of experience, such as Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, Judith Arndt and Amber Neben."
The first stage on Wednesday will likely end in a bunch gallop. "We hope to see Chloe [Hosking] and Ina succeed [Wednesday] in the sprint. It's a 100-kilometer stage that is relatively flat, so it should be a sprinter's race." The tactics are already given out by team. "There is some good competition here and we plan to race hard from the beginning and try to set the pace for the rest of the Tour."
Stage one takes riders from Martinborough to Masterton near the ocean where the weather changes quickly and could present some challenges. "We've been advised it could be 16-18 degrees centigrade and rainy throughout the weekend but nothing we can't handle," says Lauke. "Rain or shine, we will have to race at 100 percent to get the victory and that is what we plan to do."
Shelley Olds is defending her title, this time coming to New Zealand with professional team Diadora-Pasta Zara. Her team manager Manel Lacambra was at the Tour twice so far - winning the overall both times. Olds won the tour in spectacular fashion last year, taking four of the six stages. The combination offers an interesting challenge to the HTC-Highroad team.
HTC-Highroad for Tour of New Zealand: Ina-Yoko Teutenberg (Ger); Judith Arndt (Ger); Chloe Hosking (Aus); Ally Stacher (USA); Amber Neben (USA); Amanda Miller (USA).
Stages:
Stage 1: Wednesday, February 23: Martinborough to Masterton - 95km
Stage 2: Thursday, February 24: Masterton to Palmerston North - 114km
Stage 3: Friday, February 25: Palmerston North Circuit - 87km
Stage 4: Friday, February 25: Palmerston North Criterium - 35km
Stage 5: Saturday, February 26: Palmerton North - Masterton - 112km
Stage 6: Sunday, February 27: City of Wellington Criterium – Lambton Quay - 35km