Cycling: Star headed to Wellington race

The first big name has been confirmed to compete in the New Zealand leg of the women's cycling World Cup race at Wellington on March 5.

Swedish rider Susanne Ljungskog is returning for both the World Cup race and the preceding women's Tour of New Zealand, a three-day tour around the Wellington region March 1-3.

The 29-year-old Gothenburg native is a two-time former world road-racing champion and is ranked second by cycling's international body, the UCI.

The Wellington race is the second of eight legs in the UCI's World Cup series, with the first leg held a week earlier in Geelong, Australia.