Record number of UCI women’s teams sign on for Cadel’s race

A RECORD six UCI Women’s WorldTeams will line-up for the Deakin University Elite Women’s Road Race when the UCI Women’s WorldTour cycling calendar opens in Geelong in a week’s time.

Both the Elite Women’s and Elite Men’s teams lists have been confirmed for the four-day event, that gets under way with Race Torquay on January 30.

German giant Team Sunweb and FDJ Nouvelle – Aquitaine Futuroscope are among the record six UCI Women’s WorldTeams teams that will compete in the event.

Local team Roxsolt Attaquer, led by Peta Mullens, is stepping up to Continental level and will look to impress in front of a home crowd.

The full women’s team list of 14:

• Ale’ BTC Ljubljana
• CANYON//SRAM Racing
• FDJ Nouvelle – Aquitaine Futuroscope
• Mitchelton-SCOTT
• Team Sunweb
• Trek-Segafredo
• Agolico
• Astana Women’s Team
• BePink
• Doltcini – Van Eyck Sport UCI Women Cycling
• Rally Cycling
• Roxsolt Attaquer
• Tibco Silicon Valley Bank
• Australian Cycling Team – KordaMentha Real Estate.

Three new teams have also signed up for the Elite Men’s race: Groupama FDJ, Cofidis and Team Bahrain McLaren.

The number one team in the world, Deceuninck-Quick-Step, headlines the elite field of returning international teams.

A total of 15 UCI WorldTour teams and the Australian National Team will line up for the Elite Men’s race.

The inaugural Race Torquay will also feature local Australian teams StepFWD IT Suzuki and Team BridgeLane in the women’s and men’s races respectively, providing a great opportunity to mix it with the world’s best riders.

Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race director Scott Sunderland expects a competitive weekend of racing.

“A spectacular line-up of sprinting stars of Europe’s biggest one-day races and the Tour de France stage winners are ready and primed to race,” he said.

“All the final preparations are on schedule. A great buzz is beginning to build in the cycling community.

“It’s particularly pleasing to see such a strong field for the Elite Women’s race, which opens the prestigious UCI Women’s WorldTour calendar.”