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Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling will line up for its first race of the 2017 season this weekend, at the Santos Women’s Tour, in Adelaide, South Australia. The four-day race will run alongside the men’s UCI WorldTour event, the Santos Tour Down Under; while it holds a lesser category than the men’s event, the Women’s Tour is set to enjoy comparable levels of attention. Importantly for Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling’s former double Track World Champion Nettie Edmondson though, is also the fact that the race will once again take place in her home city. 
“The Tour Down Under will be really good,” Edmondson said. “It’s always a fun event, especially as it’s in my home town. It’s always a crazy vibe, and it’s awesome, especially given that the coverage is getting so much more publicised; especially as they’re doing it along with the men’s. “We have a very young team here,” the Adelaidean added. “We’ve got a couple of newbies, so this week’s all about getting to know each other, and having a bit of fun. It’s a bit low pressure because it is the first race back of the season and we don’t know where everybody's at.” Alongside Edmondson will be her fellow Australian former Track World Champion Amy Cure, who will make her debut in the black and orange jersey. Two more of the team’s new riders, in former Danish Champion Julie Leth and 19-year-old Grace Garner will also be racing for Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling for the first time. 
The team will be completed by Welsh powerhouse Amy Roberts, while general classification ambitions will be taken care of by former Japanese Champion Mayuko Hagiwara. “We’ve got Julie Leth and we’ve got Grace and Amy Cure, so half the team’s brand new,” Edmondson explained. “But there is a lot of experience in Julie; Grace is quite young, and Amy’s done a bit of road in the past, so it’s just about getting those guys into the team and feeling comfortable. “We’ve also got Mayuko, and we’re going to see where she’s at, because the first day’s a really tough road stage, and that suits her, but we’re not sure where her fitness is at after training through the winter in Japan. “There’s not really that much pressure for us here, but we really do want to win the crit, like we did last year, because that really suits our team,” Edmondson concluded. “We’ve got a bit of a power team so to win that would be great for the team, but other than that we’re just going to take it day by day and hopefully get a win or two.” Keen to get her Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling career on the road is 19-year-old Garner, whose elder sister Lucy has been part of the black and orange squad since 2016. Garner has been acclimatising in Australia for several days, and is now ready to go. 
“I'm really looking forward to starting the season off down in Australia,” she said. “It's nice to get to know some of the girls on the team and get to know the staff to start creating a good team environment before the bulk of the season starts. “I’m just generally excited to kick start to season early and get the ball rolling on what I'm sure will be a successful season for the Wiggle High5 team!” the 19-year-old added. Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling team for the Santos Women’s Tour |
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