There's good news for the riders and the organisers of Sunday's women's World Cup race in Wellington city, New Zealand, with the strong winds that have battered the region in the last few days forecast to die out in time for the big race tomorrow.
The riders battled gale force winds at times during the three days of the Trust House Cycle Tour around the Wellington region this week, as well as rain during Friday's time trial around the Miramar peninsula. But the forecast for Sunday is for a mostly fine day with a light northerly wind.
"The weather wasn't great on Friday - wet and cold - but the most important thing is that we get a good day for the World Cup race, and it looks like we will," event director Eddie Bright said.
German rider Ina Teutenberg leads the World Cup standings after taking out last week's first leg in Geelong. She's likely to face tough competition from world number one and defending champ, Australian Oenone Wood, who finished a disappointing 41st in Geelong and will be looking to improve.
The highest ranked Kiwis are Tamara Boyd in ninth place and Joanne Kiesanowski in 10th place, but there'll also be plenty of interest in Sarah Ulmer after her strong performance in winning the Trust House Tour.
The World Cup race starts at 12:30pm from outside Parliament with the riders completing 20 laps of a 6.2 kilometre course (total 124 kilometres) which includes a tough climb up the steep Boulcott Street and a thrilling descent down The Terrace. The winner is expected to cross the line just after 4pm.
