3rd GP Feminas Castilla y Leon - CDM

Spain, March 28, 2004

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A new fast flat course for round three

Melchers crossing the line in 2003
Photo: © AFP

The third round of the women's world cup series will take place this weekend in Salamanca, Spain on a different course from the previous two years. The course will consist of 12 laps of a 10.1 km course making up a total of 121.2 kilometers. The lap is slightly undulating with the finishing straight being on a slight uphill grade.

Currently leading the World Cup series is Oenone Wood (Australian National Team), who won the first round of the series in Geelong, Australia, and continued her strong early season by taking third place in last week's Primavera Rosa. Wood leads by 35 points over last week's winner Zoulfia Zabirova, who won the race on the Ligurian coast in the same spectacular fashion as she did in 2003. Breaking away on the Cipressa and holding off a fast chasing peloton for the remaining 25 kilometers is something only a few women in the world would be capable of doing.

Winning the bunch sprint to take second place last week was Farm Frites-Hartol rider Miriam Melchers, who won Castilla y Leon last year by breaking away solo with five kilometers remaining in the race. Melchers has always been a strong contester of the World Cup series overall and will be back in Spain ready to defend her title.

If the race comes down to a bunch sprint, watch for Petra Rossner (Equipe Nürnberger Versicherung) who currently sits third in the WC points. Rossner came second in the bunch sprint in 2002 to Regina Schleicher (Safi-Pasta Zara Manhattan) to take the WC series lead.

Schleicher is another rider to watch, and she recently proved that her sprinting form is as good as ever. Schleicher sits eighth is the WC series and won the first stage of the three-day stage race that leads into this WC. Her teammate Georgia Bronzini (Safi-Pasta Zara Manhattan) and Rochelle Gilmore (Team S.A.T.S) came second and third in the sprint, also putting them in good stead for Sunday.

Although a fast and flat course, there is every chance that a strong break away will form or the classic late solo break away. With this race being an important Olympic selection race for many riders, opportunists will be looking for the perfect breakaway moment.

World Cup standings after round 2

1 Oenone Wood (Aus)                                                   110 pts
2 Zoulfia Zabirova (Rus) Team Let's Go Finland                         75
3 Petra Rossner (Ger) Equipe Nürnberger Versicherung                   50
4 Mirjam Melchers (Ned) Team Farm Frites-Hartol                        50
5 Priska Doppmann (Swi)                                                42
6 Miho Oki (Jpn) Team Farm Frites-Hartol                               38
7 Alison Wright (Aus) Nobili Rubinetterie-Guerciotti                   36
8 Regina Schleicher (Ger) Safi-Pasta Zara Manhattan                    30
9 Joanne Kiesanowski (NZl)                                             28
10 Rochelle Gilmore (Aus) Team S.A.T.S.                                27
11 Anita Valen (Nor) Team S.A.T.S.                                     27
12 Hayley Rutherford (Aus) S.C. Michela Fanini Record Rox              24
13 Rachel Heal (GBr) Team Farm Frites-Hartol                           21
14 Olga Slyusareva (Rus) MRG                                           21
15 Sara Carrigan (Aus)                                                 15
16 Katia Longhin (Ita) S.C. Michela Fanini Record Rox                  15
17 Tanja Hennes (Ger) Team Next 125                                    11
18 Liane Bahler (Ger)                                                  11
19 Sharron Vandromme (Bel) Vlaanderen-T-Interim Univega Ladies Team    10
20 Sara Symington (GBr) Team S.A.T.S.                                   9
21 Arenda Grimberg (Ned)                                                9
22 Nicole Freedman (Isr) Basis Aude                                     8
23 Eneritz Iturriaga (Spa) Team Let's Go Finland                        8
24 Cathy Marsal (Fra) Nobili Rubinetterie-Guerciotti                    7
25 Svetlana Boubnenkova (Rus)                                           7
26 Tina Mayolo - Pic (USA)                                              6
27 Katie Mactier (Aus)                                                  5
28 Modesta Vzezniauskaite (Ltu) Safi-Pasta Zara Manhattan               5
29 Olivia Gollan (Aus)                                                  4
30 Angela Brodtka (Ger)                                                 4
31 Tetyana Stiajkina (Ukr)                                              3
32 Frances Newstead (GBr)                                               2
33 Rosa Maria Bravo Soba (Spa)                                          2
34 Deirdre Barry (USA) T-Mobile Professional Cycling Team               1
35 Annette Beutler (Swi) Lietzsport Cycling                             1

Past winners

2003 Mirjam Melchers (Ned) Farm Frites-Hartol Cycling Team  2.53.48 (37.11 km/h)
2002 Regina Schleicher (Ger) S.C. Michela Fanini Record Rox