Riders during last year’s Ladies Tour of Qatar are seen with Sheikh Khalid bin Ali Al Thani, President of the Qatar Cycling Federation (QCF). The Ladies Tour of Qatar will kick off the new season tomorrow.
DOHA: The world’s top cyclists are set to manage an extra load of work in the season opener when the fifth edition of the Ladies Tour of Qatar kicks-off from the Museum of Islamic Art tomorrow.
Hosted by the Qatar Cycling Federation (QCF), this year’s Ladies Tour of Qatar will be contested over four days.
The past four editions in Qatar were held over three days.
“Yes, we have added one more stage to our event this year,” Magid Al Naimi, Secretary General of QCF, said yesterday.
“It was unanimously decided to expand the event by adding another stage to the women’s Tour of Qatar,” Al Naimi added.
“We felt that three days were not enough,” he said.
Two-time champion in Qatar Kirsten Wild will be hoping to claim a personal hat-trick of titles this year. Wild - who won the Qatar title in 2009 and 2010 - will ride for Team Argos - Shimano.
The 2010 and 2011 world champion Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle) will line up for the first time in the black and orange stripes of her new team.
The 29-year-old Italian, who won the world titles in Melbourne and Copenhagen, is a prolific stage winner in Qatar and has worn the sprinter’s jersey and the leader’s jersey in previous editions.
She will be chasing her first title win in Qatar where there is virtually no climbing as the riders usually battle heavy crosswinds.
Last year’s winner Judith Arndt will be a major absentee as the German rider has retired.
However, last year’s runner up Trixi Worrack, (Specialized - Lululemon) is on the provisional start list along with 2011 champion Ellen van Dijk.
Al Naimi said the four-day event would help Qatar ‘develop skills to meet the challenge of organising a top cycling event at a larger scale’.
Qatar last year in September won the bid to stage the 2016 World Championships.
Al Naimi said in future more teams would be added to the Qatar roster. He said an increase in the number of riders would also be seen in action as Doha prepares for the mega event in 2016.
“The President of QCF Sheikh Khalid bin Ali Al Thani, the Board Members and the stake holders decided to expand the event,” he said.
The first stage of the season-opener will start from the Museum of Islamic Art and ends in Messaieed tomorrow.
The second stage will start from the Camel Race Track and ends at Al Khor Corniche on Wednesday.
The third stage begins at Al Thakira and concludes in Madinat Al Shamal area. The fourth and the final stage will start from the Sealine Beach Resort concluding at Doha Corniche on February 1.
The four-day event will be contested over 392 kilometers.
Fifteen teams representing 10 different nationalities will strive to bag the golden jersey worn by the leader of the general classification.
The men’s Tour of Qatar will commence from February 3 with riders competing over six days of intense cycling across the country.THE PENINSULA
