Team High Road has announced its roster for the New Zealand Community Trust Women's Tour, February 27-March 2.
The team will be headed by defending champion Judith Arndt form Germany. Arndt, 32, was the 2004 road world champion and has a formidable palmarès including overall and stage wins in the Tour de l'Aude, Grand Boucle Féminine and numerous World Cup races.
Arndt will be supported by High Road's formidable sprinter Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, 33. The hugely experienced German added three stages of the 2007 Women's Tour of New Zealand to her list of World Cup and major race stage wins. She is likely to be a force to be reckoned with in the stage finishes.
High Road will also field another World Cup star in Australian Oenone Wood, 27. The reigning Australian champion and two-time World Cup series winner is a rider to watch on short, steep climbs where she has a habit of tearing apart the peloton.
The team is rounded out by Alex Rhodes (23, Australia), Linda Villumsen (22, Denmark), and Chantal Beltman (31, Netherlands).
The women's division of Team High Road has had a good 2008 so far, team manager Kristy Scrymgeour told Cyclingnews.
"We're very happy with the excellent start we had to the season with Alex taking a win at Bay Series and a bronze in the [Australian] National Time Trial Championships and Oenone winning the road title," said Scrymgeour. "The rest of the team is excited to start racing and looking forward to continuing the success."
For now, Scrymgeour said the team's immediate focus is on the World Cup round in Geelong, Australia, February 24. But she has no doubt High Road will dominate in New Zealand. "All of them are fit and I think they're ready to kick some arse," she said.
