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Cooma Snowy Women's Cycle Classic - NE
NSW, Australia, February 15-16, 2003
Races
Preview
By Mark Carter
The Cooma Cycling Club, sponsored by the Cooma local Council and the Snowy Mountains Hydro Authority present the innaugural Snowy Women's Cycle Classic.
The race is the brainchild of Cooma Cycling Club Committee in conjuction with ACTAS coach Warren McDonald. Col Frost said that 'the main reason for initiating the race was due to the Tour de Snowy not going ahead this year.' The race was oganised fairly hastily over recent months. 'The event will be two separate one day races,' Frost said and has described the road race course as 'not much flat road, just constantly going up or down, with no nasty long climbs (at least nothing like that Fitz's Hill out the back of the ACT!), on the very lightly trafficked (back) road to Dalgety'.' The road to Dalgety runs almost due South, bisecting the highways to the snow (SW) and to the coast (E) (via Brown Mountain).
Frost also indicated that if the TDS does not get off the ground next year, that Cooma would be seeking to put on a longer race of three or four stages, over three days, with all stages starting and finishing at one hub in Cooma, in a silmilar fashion to the Tour Down Under. The race organisers would also be seeking UCI status for such a race, which would come on the back of the Geelong World Cup.
Currently the race has a field of 38 entered, which includes the cream of Australian female cyclists including Alison Wright (ranked No. 22 in the world), Margaret Hemsley (41st), Emma James (54th) as well as new Australian Champ Olivia Gollan and runner up Oenone Wood. American riders are arriving earlier in Australia (prior to the World Cup in Geelong), to race the Classic, headed by Mari Holden (formerly ranked in the top five in the world, currently 103rd) and Kimberly Bruckner (34th). Mary Grigson, Australia's top ranked Mountain Biker will also be racing for ACTAS, along with U19 rider Jess Maclean, who'll be getting her first real taste of international strength racing.
In addition to our elite riders racing for their various state and pro teams, Canberra will also be fielding at least nine of its best local riders including Hickey, Capello, Carey, Hedgecoe, Wiseman, Ballard, Moore, Ridsdale and Toet.
