Doha Corniche
94 km
Friday 5 February
The Ladies’ Tour of Qatar witnessed an outstanding finish with several riders battling it out for overall victory all the way to the finish line on the Doha Corniche. After capturing precious bonus seconds at both intermediate sprints, Kirsten Wild went on to claim stage victory and conquer the golden jersey from her main rival Giorgia Bronzini. The Dutch Cervelo rider wins the event for the second consecutive time.
83 riders at the start; 15 teams
Very windy
Cheeky wind… Blowing from the south, it had made the life of the riders a nightmare yesterday. Well the wind had decided to change direction, coming from the north and therefore again troubling the pack of the Ladies’ Tour of Qatar on the final stage of the event. Indeed, the 83 remaining riders took off from the Sealine Beach Resort down south and faced a strong face wind as they headed up to the city of Doha for the final showdown (only 33.1 kms covered during the first hour of racing). At kilometre 24.5, Brulee (RSC) was the first to break away. Her lead over the pack never extended 20” and she was eventually caught back after 5 kilometres. Immediately after, the main field broke into several groups with title holder Wild (CWT) trapped in a second pack. A first alert for the Dutch rider who needed all the help from her Cervelo team mates to make it back into the leading golden jersey group just before the first bonus sprint. And Wild went on to capture that sprint at km 39.5 ahead of Gilmore (TCW) and Patuzzo (SAF), gaining 3 precious seconds and virtually closing in on golden jersey Bronzini.
At kilometre 43, Germany’s Brennauer took off. The German saw her lead over the pack grow rapidly: 50” at km 45 and a maximum 3’40 at km 52. She entered the final circuit well ahead of the chasing pack and reached the first passage on the line with a 2’15 lead over counter-attacking rider Cromwell (AUS) and 2’45 over the main pack. Unfortunately for Brennauer, the gap continued dropping and the escapee was finally caught just before the third passage on the line. The second intermediate sprint at km 70 was claimed by Broun (AUS) ahead of Wild and Bronzini (ITA). At that stage of the race and thanks to bonus seconds, Wild was virtually in the same time as the race leader.
In the final 4 laps of the 6 km city circuit, several breakaway attempts occurred but the pack reacted at each attack. At then end of the penultimate lap, Sweden’s Fahlin (TCW) managed to take off. With 5 kilometres to go, the HTC-Columbia rider could enjoy a slim 9” lead. Her advantage dropped down to 4” with one kilometre to go. Fahlin was eventually caught with just over 500m to go. Well led out by her Cervelo squad, Kirsten Wild powered to the line, claiming her first stage success this year. Beating Bronzini (ITA) to the line, the Dutch rider captures her second overall victory in Qatar and retains her golden jersey thanks to the bonus seconds claimed. A disappointed Bronzini has to settle with the points’ silver jersey. The best young rider of the event remains Lithuania’s Lalivyte (SAF).