Cromwell plans for aggressive race in Commonwealth Games

The Australian women's team will be looking to assert their collective strength on the opposition in Sunday's Commonwealth Games road race, according to Tiffany Cromwell.

The team head into the race with a number of options in what should be a tactical and demanding course in Glasgow. The Australian and English teams will be expected to control the race and Cromwell, who is competing in her first major Games, is predicting that Lizzie Armitstead will line up as the pre-race favourite. However the Australians have a team of greater depth, according the Specialized lululemon rider.

"We have two sprinters here with Chloe [Hosking] and Mel [Hoskins] and we can try and utilize our numbers in the best way without saying that we have an out and out leader. I think we’ve got greater strength in depth for this style of course," she told Cyclingnews.

England line up with Armitstead supported by the likes Emma Pooley, Lucy Garner and Hannah Barnes.

"What we want is a hard race and we're hoping that it’s aggressive. Lizzie is the main favourite so it's about using our strengths and making sure that we don't come to the finish with her and some of the other fast finishers."

As for Cromwell, a rider suited to the some of the power climbs on the tough circuit course, her form is starting to improve after a bout of illness earlier in the summer.

"My form is picking up," she said.

"The season started well and then I had a bit of a plateau mid season and I wasn't going that well. I started to come good again at the Giro but then I got sick. The last two weeks I've had some good training and things are coming around. I feel fit and I feel strong and collectively we've got a good team."