Kirsten Wild Clinches Opening Stage of the Ladies Tour of Qatar

Doha, February 03 (QNA) - Dutch rider Kirsten Wild sprinted to her 10th career stage win in the Ladies Tour of Qatar in Doha. The Dutch rider indeed claimed stage 1 of the 2016 edition, going through the final circuit of the next UCI Road World Championships before heading to the Qatar University. In a final bunched sprint, the already four-time winner of the event beat Annalisa Cucinotta (second) and (Third) Lizzie Williams to the line. The Hitec Products team leader naturally conquers the overall leader's Golden Jersey. Ideal conditions and almost no wind welcomed the 90 riders of the 8th edition for the start of stage 1 of the event at the Qatar University. The pack took off just after 1 o'clock for a 99-km ride. After a fairly quiet start heading north, the real action started just before the first intermediate sprint of the day when teams Orica AIS and Boels Dolmans powered to the front of the bunch. Eventually the pack broke up into two groups leaving 46 riders in the lead. The sprint at km 39 was then to be claimed by Kirsten Wild (HPU) ahead of Chloe Hosking (WHT) and Marta Tagliaferro (ALE) while the dropped riders were 35'' adrift. Five kilometers later, the pack bunched up together again. After covering the first two hours of racing at an average speed of 41 km/h, the second bonus sprint taking place on the exact finish line of the next Worlds' (km 90) was won by Chantal Blaak (DLT) beating Hosking and Marta Tagliaferro (ALE). The Dutch rider also leads the points' classification while Arianna Fidanza (ITA) is the best young rider and will wear the Pearl White jersey for tomorrow's stage 2 from the Sheikh Faisal Museum to the Al Khor Corniche. (QNA)