Kirsten Wild won the opening stage of the Ladies Tour of Qatar 2012
Dutch rider, Kirsten Wild won the opening stage of the Ladies Tour of Qatar. The cyclist finished the 97 kilometre race with a furious sprint and claimed the top position.
Chloe Hosking and Elen Van Dijk of Team Specialized Lululemon achieved the second and the third positions.
Kirsten was in the leading bunch of six cyclists, Chloe Hosking, Trixi Worrack, Elen Van Dijk, Alex Rhodes, Judith Arndt and Loes Gunnewiik.
The Dutch, however, managed to break the bunch and lead her way towards the finish-line.
Hosking was unlucky as she was riding alone with three GreenEdge-AIS and three Specialized-lululemon cyclists amongst the leaders.
Kirsten started her professional journey with AA Drink Cycling Team in 2006 and stayed with the side for a period of three years.
She moved to the Cervelo Test Team in 2009, before joining the AA Drink-Leontien.nl in 2011.
The 29-year-old won the Tour of Qatar in the previous two years and also won the Le Tour du Grand Montreal 2009, along with the three stage wins.
She also claimed the top position at the Grand Prix de Dottignies, Ronde van Gelderland, Omloop van Borsele and GP Stad Roeselare during the 2010 season.
Kirsten won the second sprint of the race, while Judith Arndt and Trixi Worrack landed in the second and the third spot.
Chloe Hosking won the young rider award with Dongyan Huang and Elena Cecchini, securing the second and third positions.
Wild is currently leading the stage 1 General Classifications, while Chloe Hosking is 8 seconds behind at the second place. German rider, Judith Arndt is further one second behind at the third spot.
The Dutch cyclist grabbed19 useful points after the race, whereas Judith Arndt and Chloe Hosking earned 12 points each.
Team Specialized Lululemon is leading the team’s classifications with a total time of 6:50:30, whereas GreenEdge-AIS, Mcipollini Giambenini and Stitching Rabo Women secured the next three positions.
The cyclists are now lining up for the 114.5 kilometre stage 2 of the race, scheduled between Al Zubara Fort and Madinat AL Shamal. The contest will conclude on 3rd February with the final 92.5 kilometre stage 3 of the race.
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