Orica-Scott add Georgia Williams to women's 2017 roster

The Orica-Scott women's team have announced the late signing of New Zealand's Georgia Williams to its 2017 roster. The 23-year-old previously rode with the BePink team, turning pro in 2013.

Williams impressed across the early season with silver medals at the national championships and fifth in the young rider classification at the Santos Women's Tour. Having represented New Zealand on the track at the world championships, Commonwealth Games, and Olympic Games, Williams will solely be focused on the road with Orica-Scott in 2017.

"I am very excited to be joining the team," said Williams. "I am looking forward to focusing on the road season this year without any track commitments.

"I can't wait to race with the Orica-Scott girls and hopefully we can have a fun and successful season together."

On the lookout for a rider to replace the retired Loren Rowney, sports director Gene Bates explained the New Zealander was an attractive signing and is looking forward to getting the best out of Williams.

"We are really excited to have Georgia Williams on the team for 2017," said Bates. "It is not easy finding riders in January, but I think we are very fortunate that this opportunity has come up to sign Georgia. We have seen some exciting rides from her and we believe that she has a great deal of potential to reach new heights in her road racing this year. She will certainly add more excitement to our roster.

"Georgia comes with a lot of experience both on the track and in European road racing. We are obviously very content with her background and we wanted to sign a rider that we could just drop into big races without any concerns."

Williams will make her racing debut with the team on February 26 at Omloop van het Hageland.