The International Cup women's cycling event to be held around the streets of Masterton on Sunday, March 1 is something special. Following hard on the heels of the three-day NZCT Women's Tour of New Zealand, which gets under way next Wednesday, it is the only women's international cycling race programmed forwhole of the Oceania region in 2009. "Masterton is very fortunate to host such a high rank event," organiser Jorge Sandoval said yesterday in pointing out it was behind only the World Cup and world championships on the women's cycling pecking order. The importance of the International Cup event is highlighted by comparisons with the Trust House men's tour held in the Wellington and Wairarapa last month. The winner of the latter was awarded 40 UCI points while the winner of the International Cup will receive 80 UCI points. Which in turn compares favourably with the 100pts awarded to the winner of a World Cup race, Sandoval said UCI points were what qualified countries for Olympic Games and world championships with only the top 20 countries on the UCI list able to send their riders to those competitions. "You cannot buy these points, you have to earn them," he said. So high is the profile of the International Cup, in fact, that Sandoval believes it will be the biggest international sporting event ever held in Masterton with over 38 countries taking television coverage of the race. "It is huge, absolutely huge," he said. The race route will see the 70-plus riders complete 14 laps of a course which will see people living in a number of Masterton streets able to watch the action close up from their front lawns. It will start in Perry street at 10am and is expected to finish about 1.30pm. The full route is: Perry street start, 0.05km left turn into Cole street, 0.10km left turn into Chapel street, 0.20km left turn into Lincoln road at the roundabout, 1.30km railway lines, 1.80km straight ahead at Ngaumutawa road (on left), 3.20km left turn into Kibblewhite road, 4.70km left turn into Upper Plain road, 5.80km straight ahead at Ngaumutawa road roundabout into Renall street, 6km railway line, 6.70km left turn into Pownall street, 7.70km right turn into Perry street, 8.50km start-finish line, end of lap. The bulk, if not all, of the riders contesting the three-day tour, which also takes in Wairarapa including the now famous Admiral Hill climb, will be in the International Cup line-up and among them will be no fewer than 41 Australians. Spearheading the challenge across the Tasman will be 2008 Oceania road race champion Rochelle Gilmore, who has been a silver medallist on the track at both the world championships and the Commonwealth Games, Oceania time trial winner Bridie O'Donnell, noted hill climber Ruth Corser and old hand Kathryn Wyatt, a gold and silver medallist at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. National teams from China and Japan are expected to fare prominently with the Chinese, who are known for their power and determination, amongst the race favourites, both for the three-day tour and the International Cup. The 2007 Asian road race champion Meng Lang and 2007 UCI World B championship road race winner Huang Xia Mei should star for them. Beijing Olympian Joanne Kiesanowski, who rides professionally in the United States, will be expected to be amongst the leading Kiwis, along with other well-performed riders like Emma Peterson, Serna Sheridan, Toni Bradshaw and Karen Fulton, while others likely to shine include. Canadian Steph Roorda and American professional Dotsie Bausch.
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