After two months of rigorous pace training behind Vespa
Australia's avant-garde LX150 scooter, the world's No. 1 women's
cycling team has kickstarted 2007 with a resounding victory in
Geelong (Vic) on March 3.
Led by gifted 23-year-old Welsh rider Nicole Cooke, the
Swiss-based Raleigh Lifeforce Creation outfit began its World Cup
defence in ominous form, upstaging the competition with five of its
six riders finishing in the top 20 after eight laps of the tough
15km circuit.
Cooke, last year's individual World Cup champion, held off
Australians Oenone Wood and Nikki Egyed in a thrilling sprint
finish to claim maximum points, while Joanne Kiesanowski was the
second Raleigh rider home in sixth. Cooke also won the three-day
Geelong Tour warm-up event from February 27 until March 1.
"I think the way it all panned out in the World Cup, holding off
the bunch, beating such a fantastic sprinter in Oenone Wood, it was
one of the most fantastic wins of my career," said Cooke. "As
victories go, it was incredible."
Melbourne's Emma Rickards, the only Australian on the Raleigh
roster, finished in 10th position, continuing the great form which
saw her secure third position in the Australian Open Road
Championships in Ballarat (Vic) on January 13.
After only ad-hoc pace training during past visits to Australia,
the four-stroke LX150 formed the backbone of Raleigh's training
regime this time out, with team manager Thomas Campana
predominantly at the controls of the Vespa as the mileage crept
towards 100km a day.
"After such an intense period of training, we were all in such
good form at Geelong," said Priska Doppman, who completed the 120km
World Cup in 19th, just in arrears of teammate Sarah Duster. "The
LX150 was perfect for us - powerful, economical and, above all,
reliable. It has certainly set us up for another big year, and the
result in Geelong was proof that we are already in the groove."
The second leg of the nine-round World Cup will be held in
Belgium on April 8. Cooke is a 25pt (75 to 50) leader over Wood in
the individual standings, while Raleigh goes into round two holding
sway by 33pts (113 to 80) in the teams' classification.
The Vespa LX150 is a designer scooter for those who want a
stylish form of transport. It houses a powerful and economical
150cc four-stroke, environmentally friendly Euro 3 compliant
engine, and also features electric start, an automatic
transmission, large underseat storage, a fuel gauge, an anti-theft
electronic key immobiliser, classic Vespa all-steel body, front
disc brake, alloy wheels and a two-year unlimited kilometre
warranty. It retails for $6745 (plus ORC).
There is also a 125cc version of the LX, available for $5990
(plus ORC).
The Piaggio company, nestled in the Tuscan countryside between
Florence and Pisa, first invented scooters in 1946 when they
produced the first ever Vespa and helped liberate a war-torn Italy.
Vespa remains the iconic scooter brand with its unique metal bodied
design. Today Piaggio continues to produce scooters under the
classic Vespa brand, the sporty Gilera brand and the contemporary
Piaggio brand. In Australia, PS Importers is the sole importer of
this iconic and popular range.
Links
For more information contact:
Mark Fattore
Marketing Manager
PS Importers
20 Stubbs Street
Kensington, Vic 3031
Tel: + 61 (0)3 9381 9733
Mobile: + 61 (0)417 557 204
Fax: + 61 (0)3 9381 9798
Email: mark@psimporters.com.au
www.piaggio.com.au
www.vespa.com.au
www.gilera.com.au