 |
|
|
| Stage
1 - 8km Individual Time Trial |
27/02/07 |
| German
National Team |
@
05" |
| Raleigh
Lifeforce Creation |
@
07" |
The first day of the
2007 for Nicole and third place in the morning time
trial to open the Geelong Tour.
"I'm satisfied with
that. It was really windy because the route was along
the coast, and you also have to keep something in
reserve with another fast stage to come later." |
|
|
|
| Stage
2 - 30km Criterium |
27/02/07 |
|
Raleigh Lifeforce Creation |
same
time |
Nicole took the overall lead
in the race after featuring strongly in the town centre
circuit race, picking up some bonuses along the way.
She won the first sprint from Oenone Wood at 10k, was
2nd to Wood at 20k, and was then third in the final
sprint.
"It was very fast, and
tight with plenty of attacks, so I have to thank my
team for plenty of hard work to keep me up there. They
rode really well in anaggressive race but Ina and Rochelle
were really strong at the finish. We're delighted to
have the jersey on the team and it's a good sign for
the rest of the week" |
|
|
|
| Raleigh
Lifeforce Creation |
same
time |
Nicole
extended her overall lead finishing with the front
group but not contesting the final sprint for the
line. The race all came back together after a mid
stage break on a course featuring a 20% climb. A 2"
bonus on the stage for Nicole puts her 7" ahead
going into the final day.
"The climb was quite tough, especially since we
were trying to close down the breakaway. I needed the
team to do a lot of work today, and we got two riders
in the break. I was pleased with the way they kept things
under control." |
|
|
|
| Australian
National Team |
same
time |
| Raleigh
Lifeforce Creation |
same
time |
A
busy final day with crashes and numerous attacks and
crashes. Nicole finished 3rd in the second intermediate
sprint, 2nd in the third and then won the fourth.
That was enough to ensure she clinched the points
title in the race.
She was then able to cross the line in fourth place
at the finish arms aloft celebrating becoming the
first ever non Australian to win the Geelong Tour,
and victor of the first UCI event of the season.
With the stage
sprint in front of her Nicole celebrates overall
victory
buy photo
womenscycling.net
|
"The race is all a bit
of a blur, I can't really remember how it panned out,
except that we won and the team deserved the victory
for an incredible performance!"
"On days like this it's not just about working
hard, but thinking hard too. There was so much going
on with teams like T-Mobile attacking the jersey, we
had to really concentrate from start to finish." |
|
|
|
| Current
General Classification |
28/02/07 |
| Univega
Raleigh Lifeforce |
6h
15m 46s |
| German
National Team |
@
10" |
Nicole took
both the race winner's Purple Jersey, and the points
competition. She finished 10" ahead of Larissa
Kleinman, and there was more German success with T-Mobile
placing riders 3rd, 4th (Ina-Yoko Teutenberg) and
5th (Oenone Wood).
Pretty in Pink
and Purple! Pink for points, Purple for overall
winner.
buy photo
womenscycling.net
|
Nicole collected 26 points, 8 more than the runner up
in that competition Tina Pic. The riders now have a
day off before the opening round of the 2007 World Cup
in Geelong on Saturday.
"We've
seen how strong T-Mobile have been here this week, and
Suzanne Ljungskog was 6th, plus sprinters like Rochelle
(Gilmore) are going well too so it's going to be a tough
race on Saturday. We're going to have to be at our best
again to have a chance of getting off to the start we
want defending the title we won last year." |
|
|
 |
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