Sheikh Khalid bin Ali Al Thani (third right), President of Qatar Cycling Federation (QCF), is seen with Bart Cahir (third left), President and General Manager of ExxonMobil Qatar Inc, retired Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx (second right), Majid Al Naimi (second left), Secretary General, QCF, and Ihab El Feky (right), General Manager, Mitsubishi Motors, Qatar, during a press conference in Doha yesterday. PICTURES: SYED OMAR
DOHA: Two-time champion Kirsten Wild (pictured) will be eyeing a hat-trick of titles at Ladies Tour of Qatar which starts with a 67-km stage today.
Winner in 2009 and 2010, the Dutch rider has switched teams in the off-season and will now race for Team Argos - Shimano at the four-day event.
Wild will be joined by 2010 and 2011 world champion Giorgia Bronzini of Italy, last year’s runners-up Trixi Worrack of Germany and the 2011 Qatar winner Ellen van Dijk of the Netherlands.
“Sometimes it is difficult to keep your mind off the hat-trick,” Wild said yesterday.
“But I know that it (winning the title) is possible if I keep my focus on all the four days,” the 30-year-old added.
“There are some really good cyclists here so I know it won’t be easy,” she said.
“I have trained well with the other four girls in the team. Everything went according to plan during the training in the off-season,” the Dutch sprinter said when asked about her preparations.
“We have gelled well as a team. So I would say all of us are looking forward to the race in Qatar,” she said.
Wild will be joined by Dutch girls Janneke Kanis-Busser, Amy Pieters, Willeke Knol and Kelly Markus for Team Argos - Shimano.
“I had to choose a new team (for the 2013 season) after our previous sponsors pulled out,” Wild said. “But now I’m looking to impress with the new team and I have four riders from Netherlands in the team. Hopefully we can put up a good show here,” she added.
When asked about the Lance Armstrong’s doping scandal on the men’s tour, Wild said: “I would like to say that the women’s cycling have not come under any such controversy till now. It is clean and I would like tell the people to come and watch.”
Wild added: “There are some strong women cyclists here and one can expect a good contest. It is still an exciting sport.”
When reminded that defending champion Judith Arndt won’t be present in Qatar this week, Wild said: “There is no doubt that Arndt has left a huge gap but that doesn’t mean things will be easy for me. There are lot of good cyclist out here and I would say it won’t be easy.”
Today’s stage one will commence from Doha Bay with magnificent setting of the Museum of Islamic Art as the backdrop. The stage will end in Mesaieed after the riders complete a distance of 97kms.
The second stage will start from the Camel Race Track and ends at Al Khor Corniche tomorrow.
The third stage begins at Al Thakira and concludes at Madinat Al Shamal area on Thursday.
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 392kms.
Fifteen teams representing 10 different nationalities will strive to bag the golden jersey worn by the leader of the general classification, won last year by Germany’s Arndt.
Having retired at the end of last year, Arndt will not be on the Qatar start line to defend her title in Qatar where there is virtually no climbing as the riders usually battle heavy crosswinds.
Retired Belgian legend Eddy Merckx - who provides expert help to the Qatar Cycling Federation (QCF) - said: “This year we will have four stages instead of the three we had in the past editions. As you can see, the event is becoming bigger and bigger each year.”
Merckx, 67, added: “I would like to praise the work put in by QCF and the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) over the years. This is a very popular event on the cycling calendar.”
THE PENINSULA
