Hosking wins first sprint in Qatar

Chloe Hosking (Hitec Products UCK) edged out her training partner Gracie Elvin (Orica-AIS) in a tight four-up sprint to claim the opening stage of the Ladies Tour of Qatar, while a number of pre-race favourites slipped out of contention on an aggressive day of racing on the road to Mesaieed.

The Australian pair were joined by Lisa Brennauer (Specialized-Lululemon) and Liesbeth de Vocht (Rabo Women) in the winning move, which formed inside the final 20 kilometres after Specialized and Orica-AIS had split the peloton in crosswinds shortly after the midway point, reducing the lead group to some 25 riders.

That group began to splinter on the fast run-in to the line, but neither Specialized nor Orica-AIS was going to allow a move to go clear without representation. When Elvin ghosted off the front in the company of Brennauer, Chloe Hosking realised that she had to respond.

"When Gracie went for Orica with Brennauer from Specialized, I knew I had to be there because they're two of the most dominant teams here," Hosking said as she waited to mount the podium afterwards. "Then, once we started working together, the gap got bigger and bigger."

The quartet opened up a lead of 20 seconds at one point, such was the harmony of their collaboration, and when a spirited solo pursuit from Valentina Scandolara (MCipollini Giordana) petered out inside the closing kilometres, it was clear that the destination of the first golden jersey would be decided amongst them. The remnants of the lead group would come home 10 seconds later, but the main peloton, which included double world champion Giorgia Bronzini, lost almost two minutes and - surely - all hopes of overall victory.

Elvin opted to sit on the back of the group in the finishing straight, waiting for her friend Hosking to show her hand. When Hosking peeled off to the right inside the final 200 metres, Elvin dived for her wheel, but the recently crowned Australian champion was unable to come around her, and the spoils fell to Hosking.

"It was always going to be difficult to beat her in the sprint," Elvin said afterwards. "I was in last position, which was the best to be in, but I still couldn't quite get over the top of her in the end."

For Hosking, victory came as something of a relief after a number of near misses in Qatar in the past, and it came as something of a surprise after she had opted to largely forgo racing during the Australian summer for the first time in her career. "I had no expectations coming in as I had very little preparation done compared to the past," Hosking said. "All I'd done before now was the national championships, so I'm very happy to get the win here."

Crosswinds

In the sparse, flat topography of Qatar, wind is by far and away the greatest obstacle, and so it proved once more on the opening day of this year's race. In comparison to the desert gusts that have buffeted the event in the past, the light breeze that swept in off the Gulf on Tuesday seemed positively benign, but the circuitous nature of the day's route meant that it would still have a profoundly telling impact on the race.

The early exchanges were dominated by the Argos-Shimano team, who strung out the peloton and piloted Kirsten Wild to the first bonus sprint ahead of Rochelle Gilmore (Wiggle-Honda) and Marta Tagliaferro (MCipollini Giordana). At that point, nobody had succeeded in escaping the clutches of the peloton, but that all changed when the bunch swung left after passing the evocatively named Singing Sand Dunes.

Specialized-Lululemon and Orica-AIS clearly had studied their roadbooks, as the two teams were heavily represented when the bunch began to fragment in the crosswinds, while so many others were found wanting. "We were waiting for that corner to come up, we knew it was going to be a crosswind and a lot of us were trying to push in near the front before we hit the corner," said Orica's Elvin, who also had Tiffany Cromwell and Emma Johansson for company.

The bulk of the pacemaking came from Specialized, however, and in particular 2011 winner Elen van Dijk, who found a little corner of Utrecht in the flatlands of Qatar. "We all just tried to stay on near the front," Elvin said. "It was a good split to be in."

That group was eventually whittled down to just 19, as rider after rider was jettisoned out the back. Among the last to go was Bronzini, but a number of rapid finishers did manage to survive the Specialized onslaught, including Gilmore, Tagliaferro and double Tour of Qatar winner Kirsten Wild, and they remain in the running for overall honours.

"Any bit of an advantage you can get in these stages is good," said Hosking afterwards. "It's a good buffer but I'll have to keep building on it."

Stage 2

The Ladies Tour of Qatar continues on Wednesday with the 96km second stage from the Camel Race Track to Al Khor Corniche.