Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ale Cipollini) heads on stage(Image credit: Sean Robinson)
Sixteen teams invited to compete at the second annual Aviva Women’s Tour were officially presented on Tuesday evening outside the Apex theatre in Charter Square within the Arc shopping centre in Bury St Edmunds.
Fans and members of the press were treated to on-stage interviews from star studded riders like the Tour of California Women’s Race winner Trixi Worrak (Velocio-SRAM), last year’s Queen of the Mountain winner Sharon Laws (Bigla) and Boels Dolmans trio Lizzie Armitstead, who is the current World Cup leader, Romy Kasper and Christine Majerus.
Other riders introduced on stage were Wiggle-Honda’s duo Elisa Longo Borghini and Annette Edmondson, Iris Slappendel (Bigla), Katie Hall (UnitedHealthcare), Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Alé-Cipollini) and Optum Pro Cycling’s Canadian pair Leah Kirchmann and Lex Albrecht.
The current road and cyclo-cross world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot was expected to be at the race wearing the rainbow jersey, however, she has pulled out of Rabo-Liv's line-up. She and teammate Marianne Vos have been struggling with lingering injuries.
The teams invited to this year’s race include Rabo-Liv, Wiggle-Honda, Boels Dolmans, Velocio-SRAM, Orica-AIS, Liv-Plantur, Matrix Fitness, Bigla, UnitedHealthcare, Optum Pro Cycling, Lotto Soudal Ladies, Alé-Cipollini, Poitou Charentes-Futuroscope 86, Pearl Izumi Sports Tours Internation, and national teams from USA and Germany.
The world-class field will start the five-day race in Bury St Edmunds on Wednesday morning for stage 1’s 112.6km race that will finish in Aldeburgh.
