Ladies Tour of Qatar: Wild wins opening stage

A sixth sense for navigating crosswinds and a rapid sprint are the fundamental qualities required at the Ladies Tour of Qatar, and so there was little surprise, perhaps, that Kirsten Wild (Giant-Shimano) emerged victorious at the end of stage 1 in Mesaaied.

Wild correctly judged the pitch of the race when crosswinds split the peloton shortly after passing the Singing Sand Dunes with 55 kilometres to go. Driven by no fewer than four Orica-AIS riders, the 21-woman leading group worked harmoniously thereafter towards the finish line, where Wild hit the right note in the sprint.

A brisk tailwind was at the group's back in the finishing straight, and Wild duly took this as her cue to open her sprint from distance, and she ran out a decisive win over Shelley Olds (Ale Cipollini) and the rapidly-closing Chloe Hosking (Hitec Products) to claim the first gold jersey of the race.

"Maybe it looked easy but it wasn't – I had a heart rate of 190 in the finale. You just have to pretend to yourself that it's easy and stay calm," said Wild, who paid particular tribute to the efforts of her fellow Dutchwoman Amy Pieters in policing the lead group on the run-in to the line. "I had a wonderful teammate on the front and she did a great job."

Like Tom Boonen in the men's equivalent, Wild has enjoyed unparalleled success in the Ladies Tour of Qatar since its inception in 2009. Tuesday's win was her seventh stage victory at the race, and she is now in the box seat as she chases her fourth overall victory. In the general classification, the Dutchwoman is 8 seconds clear of Olds and 11 ahead of Hosking going into stage 2.

"I look at it day by day," she insisted. "I'm happy with this stage and what happens in the next days, I will see."

Rapid start

The wind was at the peloton's back as it pedalled away from the start outside Doha's striking, I.M. Pei-designed Museum of Islamic Art, and those conditions made for a rapid start to proceedings, with some 46.1 kilometres covered in the first hour of racing.

With bonus seconds such a valuable commodity in the Qatari desert, there was precious little scope for an early break. Instead, on the first passage through the finish line after 35 kilometres, Wild claimed the sprint, ahead of British champion Lizzie Armitstead and Melissa Hoskins (Orica-AIS).

Given the flat terrain and utter lack of shelter on the roadsides, the slightest of winds can wreak havoc on the peloton when allied to a change in direction, but it took longer than many expected for the stage-defining split to occur. When it did happen, however, with 55 kilometres remaining, there was little surprise about the make-up of the 21-rider leading group.

Orica-AIS were among the principal drivers of the move, with Emma Johansson, Loes Gunnewijk, Melissa Hoskins and new signing Valentina Scandolara all present and correct, while Tiffany Cromwell (Specialized-Lululemon), Shelley Olds, Chloe Hosking, Lizzie Armitstead and Jolien D'Hoore (Lotto Belisol) were also safely aboard the bus.

Wiggle-Honda, by contrast, were the great absentees of the move, something which will cause particular disappointment in their ranks considering Giorgia Bronzini's early-season form at the Bay Crits series. The British-based squad attempted to orchestrate the pursuit behind, but with the peloton fragmented – and with so many strong riders up front – it was an all but impossible task. Within kilometres, the gap has stretched out to almost a minute, and the list of contenders for final overall victory had been considerably narrowed.

The tailwind in the finale meant that it was always going to be difficult for any late escape attempts to stick. After picking up three more bonus seconds at the second sprint, there was a degree of inevitability about Wild's eventual stage victory, but third-placed Chloe Hosking was among those to take heart from how the day unfolded. Were it not for an untimely puncture last year, the Australian could well have claimed the overall honours, and she was pleased with her opening gambit here.

"Kirsten's really fast but I didn't feel outdone today, I just went too late in the sprint," Hosking said. "I'm not down in the dumps about it. I think I can come out tomorrow with a different result."

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