Harvey will face stern competition from Sharlotte Lucas and Kate McIIroy, who are using the race as part of their build-up to next month’s Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
McIIroy won the Dunedin round last year when she dropped three-time champion Lucas and Harvey on the final climb.
But Harvey is keen to get her campaign off to a winning start and is looking forward to what is shaping up as a tactical race.
"Obviously, the last bit of the course is a little gnarly with the climb, making the majority of the race very tactical on the flat circuit," Harvey said.
"There will be a lot of interesting tactics coming from all the teams."
Harvey’s team-mate, Georgia Catterick, should also feature strongly, along with
The course features four laps of a flat 30km circuit for the elite men and three laps for the masters and women before riders tackle a tough 14km climb up State Highway 87 to finish at Lee Stream School. Dunedin’s Brad Evans looms as the man to watch in the men’s race. He won the points race, scratch race and teamed up to win the madison event at the national track championships in Invercargill last week. He also nabbed bronze in the individual pursuit, so he is in good nick.
Evans has missed out on riding in the home race of the series in recent years due to racing commitments and is excited to have an opportunity to do well on home soil.
"It’s a really tough course and hopefully, for me, the wind blows as well and it will be a true hard man’s day, not just for the climbers," he said.
Ryan Christensen, Matt Zenovich, Michael Vink, Sam Horgan and Evan’s team-mate, Paul Odlin, should all also make their presence felt in the race.
