The T-Mobile women will start their season in a different hemisphere to the men. The squad will debut down under in Australia and New Zealand, starting next week. Their first race is the Geelong Tour in Australia from February 21-23. This is followed on February 26 by the first of 12 events in this year's World Cup series, and will also be in Geelong. Afterwards, the riders will travel to New Zealand, where they will compete in the Tour of New Zealand (March 1-3) and the subsequent New Zealand leg of the World Cup (March 5).
"It will be a big challenge", said sporting director Andrzej Bek. "It's summertime in the southern hemisphere and the Australians are in excellent form. With the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne following shortly after these races, the competition will be very strong and in peak fitness."
