BY RIZWAN REHMAT
DOHA: British cyclist Lizzie Armitstead yesterday outpaced Shelly Olds and Lucinda Brand in a bunched sprint to win stage three of the Ladies Tour of Qatar.
Enjoying near-perfect racing conditions in the 93.5km stage, the Boels Dolmans rider took the race lead from team-mate and overnight golden jersey owner Ellen van Dijk to seal her win in a time of 2 hours 27 minutes and 45 seconds.
The 26-year-old Briton, who now owns the golden jersey, has an eight-second lead over Van Dijk who had won stage two on Wednesday.
Armitstead, the 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medalist and the silver medallist at the London Games in 2012, is a comfortable nine seconds ahead of title favourite Chloe Hosking of Australia.
Hosking, who rides for new team Wiggle-Honda, finished stage three in fourth spot behind Brand. The Australian picked up bonus points at the two intermediate sprints.
“In the final kilometres I had to do nothing, because I knew I had four girls who could go with everything and attack if they had to. I focused on saving myself for the sprint, and it all worked out,” Armitstead said after the stage.
“I’m fast, but I’m not the fastest. I have done strength training this winter but not any speed. I didn’t expect to do anything in the sprints here,” she added.
After the intense battle of the previous day in the north of Qatar, stage 3 was just as exciting and intriguing at the same time.
The battle between the favourites started after 50 kilometres of racing and eventually around 30 riders remained together for the final sprint in Al Khor.
Fastest on the corniche was Armitstead. Winner of last year’s UCI World Cup and Commonwealth gold medallist, the Boels Dolmans rider not only claimed her first ever success in Qatar, but she also grabbed the overall leader’s Golden Jersey.
For the first time in its seven-year history, the Ladies Tour of Qatar took off from the Souq Waqif in central Doha for stage 3 of the event.
It was a picturesque start for the 85 remaining riders who took off just after 2pm for the 93.5-km ride heading north. It would prove to be a tough day for the ladies, having to fight against the head wind for most of the day.
As soon as the first kilometre, Alison Tetrik (OPW) was the first to try her luck. The American enjoyed a slim 45-second advantage at the 5-km mark but there wasn’t much she could do alone against the wind and the chasing pack.
She was caught 6 kilometres later. At the 26-km mark, China’s Ya Nan Liu (GPC) was the next to give it a go - a vain solo effort that only lasted a little over 4 kilometres.
While the pack was shaken by a crash at the first intermediate sprint at the 45-km mark, Hosking proved to be the fastest rider to the line, beating Armitstead and Julien D’Hoore.
Just after the sprint, 34 riders pulled away but things calmed down before the second sprint as the pack bunched up again. Again, Hosking flew to the line, clinching an extra three bonus seconds as she beat Giorgia Bronzini and Emma Johansson.
At that moment of the stage, Hosking had virtually moved up to second spot overall, just a second behind Golden Jersey owner Van Dijk
As the pack turned right and started heading south towards Al Khor, the main favourites powered away. Fourteen ladies gathered together at the front including seven of the top riders in the GC.
In the closing moments of the stage, despite the attempts of several riders, around 30 girls bunched up again with just under three kilometres to go. Victory was to be decided in a royal bunched sprint.
Well helped out by her Boels Dolmans team-mates, Armitstead went on to capture her very first victory on Qatari soil.
The Briton who had finished second of the stage finishing in Al Khor last year (behind Kirsten Wild) beat Olds and Brand to the line.
With one stage to go in the event, Beatrice Bartelloni remains the best young rider (Pearl White Jersey).The Peninsula
