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The Bigla Pro Cycling team will travel to Britain for the first time this month to make their debut at the Aviva Women's Tour, led by reigning Strava Queen of the Mountains Sharon Laws.
2012 British National Champion Laws rode in the inaugural edition of the race last May, taking the Strava Queen of the Mountains jersey on the opening stage and holding it for all five days. The six rider line-up will also include current Dutch and Finnish National Champions Iris Slappendel and Lotta Lepistö respectively. A UCI World Cup race winner on the road, off the bike Slappendel is also the designer of the leader jerseys or the UCI Women's Road World Cup, while Lepistö is a triple Finnish National Champion. Joining them will be former Junior Track World Champion Vera Koedooder and Swiss duo Emilie Aubry and Caroline Baur. "The Aviva Women's Tour is a race we are very much looking forward to,” Team Manager, Thomas Campana said. "Since the inception of the race, what they have added to the growth of women's cycling has been impressive. Growing women's cycling is a focus for us so we're really excited to be invited to the race and will look to make an impact and respect this invite.” Bigla join UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling in announcing their Aviva Women's Tour provisional line-ups, with the American team confirming Northamptonshire's Hannah Barnes and Commonwealth Champion Linda Villumsen will be among their six rider line-up. Fans will have their first chance to see the teams in the Aviva Women's Tour team presentation, which will take place in Bury St Edmunds from 5pm on Tuesday 16 June, before the town hosts the opening stage start the following morning. Stage One on Wednesday 17 June will finish at Aldeburgh on the Suffolk Coast, before the race again passes through Suffolk a day later between Braintree and Clacton in Essex. The third stage comes in Northamptonshire, from Oundle to Kettering before Stage Four on Saturday 20th June from Waltham Cross to Stevenage in Hertfordshire, and then the final leg through Buckinghamshire, the Chiltern Hills and Dacorum on Sunday 21st June. Highlights of each stage will be shown on ITV4 every evening during the race at 8pm. |
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The Aviva Women's Tour Created by SweetSpot Group, the Aviva Women's Tour is the UK's first ever international stage-race, bringing the world's top riders to compete over five days in Great Britain. SweetSpot are an event organiser and sports marketing company behind the organisation of the Tour of Britain, the UK's biggest professional cycle race and the country's largest free-to-watch sporting event, and the creation of the unique Tour Series races. The 2014 edition of the race, won by Marianne Vos, saw hundreds of thousands of spectators turn out at the roadside, with many more around the UK watching the ITV4 highlights. The Aviva Women's Tour will run from Wednesday 17th to Sunday 21st June 2015.
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