Aussie looking forward to trans-Tasman battle

By John Michael Flynn

The two Australian teams to contest the Trust House Women's Tour of NZ will include three of the form riders from the Geelong World Cup (Kate Nichols and Carla Ryan featured in the break at the Geelong World Cup Nikki Egyed joined the final lap attack to finish third). The three riders will be part of the twelve-strong Australian squad, which, officially at least, will be split into two teams.

Ryan, who recently won the Australian women's time trial championship, is still a newcomer at international level. "It's the start of a big year for me, I'm pretty excited," Ryan said. "It's the next step up, I haven't raced in bunches like this."

Egyed, an experienced campaigner, who hails from the world of triathlon, can't wait to team up with one of her Gold Coast training buddies in Olympic champion Sara Carrigan. "It's really exciting going into a tour, you can see the kiwi team, they've got twelve riders here, for us it'll be nice to step up the numbers," Egyed said. "I'm really looking forward to riding with some of the girls on that team."

Australian teams for Trust House Women's Tour of New Zealand

Australian Institute of Sport
Nikki Egyed
Jocelyn Loane
Jenny Macpherson
Kate Nichols
Amanda Spratt
Candice Sullivan

Australian National Team
Sara Carrigan
Tiffany Cromwell
Olivia Gollan
Lorian Graham
Carla Ryan
Vicki Whitelaw