News of Emma Pooley's return to WorldTour racing may have gone under the radar but the former world champion is relishing the chance to line up at the Santos Women's Tour as part of the Australian NRS Holden team.
Pooley regularly trains in Australia during the British winter and has even raced a few local events in Perth over the last few weeks. However, the return to the WorldTour ranks marks a significant change in gear.
"A friend of mine was meant to race Tour Down Under and they had space on her team," Pooley modestly told Cyclingnews before arriving in Adelaide on Friday.
ADVERTISEMENT
"It sounded like fun and I wanted to race for her but she's unfortunately injured. I've done a few local races in Perth as I've been in Australia since the start of November. I did a crit and a kermesse and last week I did a master's race. Bike races can be really good training and there's nothing like a stage race to make you work hard. I've also been coming to Australia for a number of years and not yet done the Tour Down Under."
This year's women's race is stacked with talent with a number of top ranking teams opening their seasons in Australia. Pooley is no stranger to world-class fields, and although the nature of the terrain at the race is not perfectly suited to her skill set, she should be a competitive force during the two main road stages.
"I've no idea about my form. A lot of the girls who have been racing here will be in really good shape because the Australian's are in their summer and they've just had nationals. I'm under no illusions but I'd like to do a decent job for the team. I'm hoping that I'll be in the mix and I've been training lots."
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/2ikSe63
No comments:
Post a Comment