Tour of Qatar Stage 3

With Stage 3 staying close to the eastern coastline for much of its 93.5km, teams expected yet more crosswinds today and were entirely correct in doing so: the bunch was split up early on once again as riders battled to make progress - Chloe Hosking (Hitec Products) later described it as "seriously one of the hardest races I have done." A group of 28, including all those who went into the race with a reasonable chance of winning, got away and led for most of the day.

In the final kilometres the lead group had been whittled down to a dozen, and as the finish drew near it looked as though Lizzie Armitstead (Boels-Dolmans), who is the only British rider in the race, would also be the only rider able to challenge the mighty Kirsten Wild, despite the Dutch rider's Giant-Shimano squad having kept tight reins on the race all the way. However, Wild's famously powerful sprint proved too much and she had little difficulty in retaining her lead across the finish line to win a third stage for the team. Armitstead was right behind her, taking second place and an identical time, while Hosking was third.

Following bonification, Wild takes back the overall lead from team mate Amy Pieters (winner of Stage 2) and now has an advantage of 9" - and seems a safe bet for anyone wanting to predict tomorrow's results, too.


Stage 3 Top Ten
1 Kirsten WILD (Giant-Shimano) 2h27'34"
2 Elizabeth ARMITSTEAD (Boels-Dolmans) ST
3 Chloe HOSKING (Hitec Products) ST
4 Shelley OLDS (Ale-Cipollini) ST
5 Emma JOHANSSON (Orica-AIS) ST
6 Barbara GUARISCHI (Ale-Cipollini) ST
7 Trixi WORRACK (Specialized-Lululemon) ST
8 Elena CECCHINI (Italy NT) ST
9 Amy PIETERS (Giant-Shimano) ST
10 Loes GUNNEWIJK (Orica-AIS) ST
Full result: stage / GC

La Flèche Wallonne 2013

17.04.2013 Official Site
Belgium, One-day World Cup Road Race
UCI CDM

Sportwereld photostream

 Marianne Vos becomes the only rider to
 win La Flèche five times

Last year, as tends to be the case with every race she enters, Marianne Vos (Rabobank) was favourite to win La Flèche Wallonne Féminine and, had she have done so, she'd have set a new record as the only rider to have won five times. The World Champion is already the only rider to have won three consecutive editions and the only rider to have won four editions in total. (For comparison, the record holders in the men's race - Marcel Kint, Eddy Merckx, Moreno Argentin and Davide Rebellin won a total of three editions each. Only one rider, Welsh World Champion Nicole Cooke, comes close to Vos' achievement with three wins and two second places, while Italian Fabiana Luperini won three including the first edition in 1998).

It was not to be. Vos - who is as clever a rider as she is strong - made a rare mistake, expending too much energy in chasing down a break before launching a savage attack on the Mur de Huy, the final climb, allowing Evelyn Stevens (Specialized-Lululemon) to power past her with only metres left and become the first American winner in the history of the race.

Marianne is well-known for being one of the nicest riders in cycling, as well as the most successful of her generation, but she freely admits that she doesn't like to lose. This year, many riders were at La Flèche both to collect World Cup points and, if at all possible, prove themselves her equal, and they've had all winter to train hard (while she was busy dominating cyclo cross again, as well as preparing to make her return to mountain biking) in an effort to match her. She'll have known at the start of the season that she wasn't going to have things quite as easy this year as last - but her rivals, now they've had a few years in which to understand just how phenomenally, remarkably, perhaps even uniquely talented Vos actually is, will also have been aware that their efforts simply might not have been enough.

Ashleigh Moolman becomes the
first South African rider to stand
on a World Cup podium

Nothing comes easy in La Flèche, with difficult roads and a series of very difficult climbs, the most difficult of them being the legendary Mur de Huy with its average gradient of 9.3% and one corner reaching 26%. Then there were the five climbs en route to it, ranging from 3.9 to 7.6% average gradient - all of them, like the Mur, climbed twice. This is a race that can't be won, nor even completed, without a good deal of suffering.

The first 50km were livened up by numerous attempts to break away, but none succeeded in gaining more than 20" before being caught until a group of eight managed to find 42" on the fourth climb. The first ascent of the Mur broke up the peloton once more, but it reconvened (minus several abandons) on the other side, setting the stage for more attacks courtesy of Britain's Katie Colclough (Specialized-Lululemon), Alena Amialiusik (BePink) and Tatiana Guderzo (MCipollini-Giordana), but with so teams out to win, piling the pressure onto their rivals in an attempt to make sure their riders were in the best positions, each attack was swiftly put down and the race was very much undecided until the last ascent.

In the end, it came down to three riders: Hitec Products-UCK's Elisa Longo Borghini who has attained the best form of her career so far this season, Lotto-Belisol's superb climber Ashleigh Moolman, and Vos. Then, when the steepest part of the Mur had taken its toll, the 25-year-old Dutch rider pulled off a characteristic move, finding strength deep down that nobody else could match - when she attacked, Moolman and Longo Borghini could only watch her go and fight one another for second and third. She won with enough time to sit up and cross the line with arms held aloft as she became the only rider, male or female, to have won La Flèche five times.

(Results below)

Parcours

Results

Elisa Longo Borghini has really come
into form this season and took a
hard-fought second place

Top Ten
1 Marianne VOS (Rabobank) 3h34'32"
2 Elisa LONGO BORGHINI (Hitec Products-UCK) ST
3 Ashleigh MOOLMAN (Lotto-Belisol) ST
4 Anna VAN DER BREGGEN (Sengers) +06"
5 Emma JOHANSSON (Orica-AIS) ST
6 Eleonora VAN DIJK (Specialized-Lululemon) +19"
7 Alena AMIALIUSIK (BePink) +25"
8 Amber NEBEN (Pasta Zara-Congeas) +28"
9 Tiffany CROMWELL (Orica-AIS) +33"
10 Jessie DAAMS (Boels-Dolmans) ST
Full result here

New World Cup Standings
1 Marianne VOS (Netherlands/Rabobank) 249
2 Ellen VAN DIJK (Netherlands/Specialized-Lululemon) 159
3 Elisa LONGO BORGHINI (Italy/Hitec Products-UCK) 155
4 Emma JOHANSSON Sweden/Orica-AIS) 147
5 Anna VAN DER BREGGEN (Netherlands/Sengers) 76
6 Annemiek VAN VLEUTEN Netherlands/Rabobank) 56
7 Elizabeth ARMITSTEAD (Great Britain/Boels-Dolmans) 45
8 Tiffany CROMWELL (Australia/Orica-AIS) 42
9 Kirsten WILD (Netherlands/Argos-Shimano) 38
10 Ashleigh MOOLMAN (South Africa/Lotto-Belisol) 35
Full standings here

The Princess Maha Chackri Sirindhon's Cup 2013

08-10.04.2013
Thailand, Road Race, 3 stages, 276.7km
UCI 2.2

Also known - fortunately - as the Women's Tour of Thailand, The Princess Maha Chackri Sirindhon's Cup was first held in 2012 when it was contested largely by riders from the Far East. China's Lin Xiu, riding for Chongming-Giant, won with an overall time of 8h58'43"; Japan's Mayuko Hagiwara, who then rode for Cycle Base Asahi but has since signed to Rochelle Gilmore's British-registered Wiggle-Honda team, was ten seconds slower for second place while Korean Sun Ae Choi was third at +1'29". There appears to be no official website for the race.

Though it lasts for three days, the race bears obvious similarities to a Flanders Classic - there are no mountains with the highest points attaining just 50-60m above sea level, but the climbs are steep and sufficiently numerous for the cumulative effect to prove decisive.

Parcours

Stage 1 (08.04.13)

Stage 1

Taking the form of a 71.4km loop, Stage 1 started at Phuket City before heading north and into a circuit, then took the same roads back to Phuket. There were no big climbs along the way, the highest points (approximately 35km and 56km) being just 50m above sea level while the final three kilometres are largely downhill (though there's a sharp climb followed by a short descent in the last 430m). While small, the hills threw a cat among the sprinters and pruned a bunch sprint that could have been equal in number to the entire peloton down to just five breakaway riders. Huang Ting Ying (Taipei), winner of the silver medals for the Team Sprint and 500m at the 2007 Junior World Track Championships, led the race over the line with Thuy Dung Nguyen (Vietnam) and Wilaiwan Kunlapha taking second and third. After bonification, Ting Ying leads the General Classification by 1"

Stage 1 Top Ten
1 Huang TING YING (Taipei) 1h53'10"

Stage 1 profile

2 Thuy Dung NGUYEN (Vietnam) ST
3 Wilaiwan KUNLAPHA (Thailand) ST
4 Bo Yee LEUNG (Hong Kong) ST
5 Minami UENO (Japan) ST
6 Mei Yu HSIAO (Taipei) +3'11"
7 Zhao Juan MENG (Hong Kong) ST
8 Panawaraporn BOONSAWAT (Thailand) ST
9 Xiao Juan DIAO (Hong Kong) ST
10 Supaksorn NUNTANA (Thailand) ST
Full result and GC here


Stage 2 (09.04.2013)

Stage 2

Running for 83.3km north from Phuket to Phang Nga, the parcours had more small climbs with none gaining much more than 20m; however, they were steep - but not steep enough to cause any large splits in the bunch, most of whom finished together. A couple of little climbs of around 5m at the beginning of the final 3km followed by a 2km descent to the finish enabled Jaruan Somrat (Thailand) to finish with an 8" lead over second and third place Jariya Chumlae (Thailand) and Wan Yiu Jamie Wong (Hong Kong).

Huang Ting Ying (Taipei) finished in fourth place 14" down, losing her General Classification lead to Thuy Dung Nguyen, who was seventh with the same time as Ting Ying and now leads overall by 2".

Stage 2 Top Ten
1 Jaruwan SOMRAT (Thailand) 2h16'54"
2 Jariya CHUMLUAE (Thailand) +08"
3 Wan Yiu Jamie WONG (Hong Kong) ST

Stage 2 profile

4 Huang TING YING (Taipei) +14"
5 Xiao Juan DIAO (Hong Kong) ST
6 Mei Yu HSIAO (Taipei) ST
7 Thuy Dung NGUYEN (Vietnam) ST
8 Phan Ngoc Trang (Vietnam) ST
9 Wilaiwan KUNLAPHA (Thailand) ST
10 Minami UENO (Japan) ST
Full result and GC here
Stage 3 (10.04.2013)

Stage 3

Starting where Stage 2 left off at Phang Nga, the parcours led back to Phuket but followed the same route only over the first part of the race, then deviated to give a total of 122km. The highest points were once again around 50m above sea level, but there were plenty more steep climbs to get to them and, as was the case yesterday, they served to split the bunch with a group of four riders getting away before making good use of the final 3km: mostly downhill with one sort section at 119.8km looking steep enough to give those riders that don't enjoy descents some problems. This section allowed Mei Yu Hsaio (Taipei), Zhao Juan Meng (Hong Kong), Panawaraporn Boonsawat (Thailand), Hiromi Kaneko (Japan) and Ho Hsiung Huang (Taipei) to preserve their lead of over a minute and a half going into the last few hundred metres where a 12m climb led to a very slightly downhill run to the final 300m. Huang dropped off on the final approach, finishing 3" behind the other leaders who shared Hsaio's winning time of 3h08'23".

Thuy Dung Nguyen of Vietnam came in 2'42" after the stage winner, taking ninth place, but having started the day 3'21" ahead of Hsaio and with all her nearest rivals finishing the stage well down in the standings her General Classification was never in any doubt; she finishes the race with an advantage of 2".

Stage 3 profile

Stage 3 Top Ten
1 Mei Yu HSIAO (Taipei) 3h08'23"
2 Zhao Juan MENG (Hong Kong) ST
3 Panawaraporn BOONSAWAT (Thailand) ST
4 Hiromi KANEKO (Japan) ST
5 Ho Hsiung HUANG (Taipei) +03"
6 Wan Yiu Jamie WONG (Hong Kong) +1'35"
7 Hsiao Chia TSENG (Taipei) +2'39"
8 Huang TING YING (Taipei) +2'42"
9 Thuy Dung NGUYEN (Vietnam) ST
10 Xiao Juan DIAO (Hong Kong) +2'48"
Full results here

General Classification Top Ten 
1 Thuy Dung NGUYEN (Vietnam) 4h10'06"
2 Huang TING YING (Taipei) +02"
3 Wilaiwan KUNLAPHA (Thailand) +06"
4 Bo Yee LEUNG (Hong Kong) +11"
5 Minami UENO (Japan) +12"
6 Jaruwan SOMRAT (Thailand) +2'59"
7 Jariya CHUMLUAE (Thailand) +3'11"
8 Wan Yiu Jamie WONG (Hong Kong) +3'13"
9 Mei Yu HSIAO (Taipei) +3'21"
10 Xiao Juan DIAO (Hong Kong) +3'22"
Full GC result here

(Map and altimetry details via Procycling Stats)

Women's Tour of Britain for 2014?

Organisers of the Tour of Britain SweetSpot say that they are investigating the possibility of holding a five-stage women's version of the race as early as Spring 2014. Details remain sketchy, but race director Mike Bennett says that he has spoken to riders and teams and the plan has been met with enthusiasm.

Emma Pooley, along with several other
British female riders, have been calling
for  a women's Tour for some time

In 2012, the women's road race at the Olympics proved to be enormously popular with viewing figures suggesting that large numbers of people without a previous interest in the sport tuned in to see the epic battle between Britain's Lizzie Armitstead and Dutch star Marianne Vos. Many later said that it had been a more exciting race than the men's event.

Running the race in Spring, separate from the men's race, seems an unusual choice - in Belgium, where women's cycling is more popular than elsewhere, several organisers run women's races alongside men's races in order to save on costs and guarantee that larger numbers of fans will show up. Emma Pooley, winner of the last Tour de France Féminin in 2009, has long called for the Tour of Britain to do the same.

With cycling's popularity currently on the up in Britain, presenting women's races as stand-alone events that do not need to be run in conjunction with men's races may help to send out a message to new fans that the sport is every bit as exciting and competitive as men's cycling, rather than suggesting that it can only exist "off the back" of men's races.

"It seems an obvious and logical step forward given the strength of women's cycling in this country and the enthusiasm for the sport generally," says Bennett.

In December it was revealed that British Cycling was considering putting the contract to run the race out to tender; news emerged hours after SweetSpot's announcement that Tour de France organisers the Amaury Sports Organisation was interested in bidding for the race - "It's something we're looking into, but I can't say too much," ASO president Jean-Etienne Amaury told the BBC. "But if we can make it something more compelling for TV and spectators, then we'd go for it," he added.

In addition to the Tour de France, the ASO also runs seventeen other cycling events including the Vuelta a Espana, Tours of Qatar, Oman and Beijing, the Criterium International and Paris-Roubaix. Only two of them - La Flèche Wallonne Féminine and the Ladies' Tour of Qatar - are women's events; but with the Women's Tour of Britain being a separate race to the men's race, it seems likely that SweetSpot would retain the right to organise and run it.

Whenever it's held, a women's Tour is clearly excellent news for the sport, in this country and abroad, and it's far more likely to take place if fans let organisers know how enthusiastic we are about the plan. Feel free to copy and paste the following, and send it to info@thetour.co.uk

As a passionate fan of women's cycling, I'm overjoyed and excited to hear that there could be a women's Tour of Britain as early as 2014. I would definitely travel to see at least one stage and would follow the race from start to finish - and with all the success enjoyed by Britain's female cyclists over the last few years, I'm sure that large numbers of people who are already fans and those who have discovered the sport since the Olympics would do the same. I'm hoping, therefore, that plenty of people will send emails similar to this one so that you can show potential sponsors that there really is a potentially massive audience out here who will watch the race.

Many thanks for getting the ball rolling - there are a lot of us out here who will support the race!

Yours,

<your name>

2013 Ladies' Tour of Qatar

29.01.2013 Official Site (more info available from Velofocus)
Qatar, Road Race, 392km
UCI 2.1

Stop Press! According to a press release published on the 28th of January, live coverage of the Tour will be broadcast live and worldwide by Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera is available via satellite, cable and freeview.

Broadcasts will take place daily at 11:30 (14:30 East Africa Time, GMT+3 hours). For more details, see Al Jazeera's listing by clicking here.

Hurrah for the end of January! There's still at least a month of winter to go for those of us in much of North America, Asia and Europe, but the good news is that after several months of hibernation (and cyclo cross, so it's not all bad) the road racing calendar is coming back to life and heading south to the warmer climes of the Middle East for the Ladies' Tour of Qatar, promising three days of top quality racing and more roadside history than you could shake a stick at.

Oh, and wind. Lots of wind - Qatar is almost entirely flat and, being surrounded on three sides by the Persian Gulf, the wind blows straight in off the sea and continues over the land unabated, whipping up the sand as it goes. Imagine someone set fire to a huge pile of sandpaper and you had to ride through it - that's what the Tour of Qatar is like. It is not a race that eases the riders gently back into racing mode, as they found out just kilometres from the start of Stage 1 last year when they changing direction and a helpful tailwind that had seen them set off at high speed turned into a searing blast that fried them in their own sweat for the rest of the parcours. 2009/2010 overall winner Kirsten Wild, riding for the Dutch national team rather than her usual AA Drink-Leontien.nl (this year, she's riding for Argos-Shimano), won that day and became the first to wear the golden jersey after a group of eleven riders (whittled down to seven by the time they reached the final sprint to the line) broke away; later she would win Stage 3 in similar circumstances. However, finishing 2'20" behind Specialized-Lululemon's Trixi Worrack on Stage 2 meant Wild was never again in contention for a third General Classification victory - GreenEDGE leader Judith Arndt (now retired) was with Worrack at the Stage 2 finish and took the same time, thus gaining a 2" lead in the GC, and from that point onwards the battle was between those two teams. When Arndt managed to stay with Wild (and several others) for fourth place in a bunch sprint to finish Stage 3, her overall advantage increased to 6" and she had the race in the bag. A lot of racing had been packed into three days and Arndt was probably glad it was all over, as were the several riders who uploaded photographs showing what human legs look like after they've been sandblasted for 307km.

Kendall Ryan

For many fans, one of the highlights of the Tour is that due it being the first race of the season, young and less-well-known riders are out to show their stuff in an attempt to please their sponsors and prove to their directeurs sportif that signing them or keeping on the team was a wise move - Kendall Ryan (then 19 years old and racing for the USA national team rather than Tibco) lit up Stage 3 with a superb solo break that saw her increase her advantage over the peloton from 25" 15km into the route to 3'25" only 5km later, a truly remarkable achievement considering the strong headwind that day. Keep an eye on similar riders this year to see the stars of the future: they're the ones that make this race what it is.

One excellent piece of news is that, in these times when women's races are feeling the economic pinch and having to make cuts (or, in all too many cases, disappearing altogether), Qatar has actually grown - this year, there will be four stages rather than three as in previous years. Once again, the parcours concentrates on the north of the country.

This year, Qatar also offers us our first chance to see the all-new Wiggle Honda/DTPC Honda team in stage racing action. Owned and managed by women's cycling legend and Commonwealth gold medal winner Rochelle Gilmore, the British-based team is partly financed by Bradley Wiggins' Wiggo Foundation and boasts the sort of line-up that even well-established teams dream about: in addition to Gilmore, the squad is home to Laura Trott, Jo Rowsell, Dani King, Amy Roberts, Elinor Barker, twice World Champion Giorgia Bronzini (an ace sprinter and very much worth watching if she rides this race), Lauren Kitchen, Beatrice Bartellon, Emily Collins, Ana-Bianca Schnitzmeier and Mayuko Hagiwara- a talent pool that looks likely to do for British women's cycling what Sky has done for the men. They'll be wanting to make their mark; expect them to do precisely that.

Jerseys

Gold - overall race leader (General Classification)
Silver - points leader
White - leading young rider

Stages

Stage 1: Museum of Islamic Art - Mesaieed 97km 

Chloe Hosking gets things under way with a superb victory in the desert

Having set off from the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha (25°17'43.64"N 51°32'21.11") - among the most iconic modern buildings in a city full of iconic modern buildings and home to a world famous collection covering almost one and a half thousand years of artistic endeavour - Stage 1 headed south  past the airport out of the city for 11.5km to Al Wakra, then south-west for a further 14km before making a pass of the finish line at Mesaieed (Umm Sa'id) after 33km. Riders faced a strong headwind on this section, perhaps a contributing factor in the crash involving Charlotte Becker (Argos-Shimano), Anna-Bianca Schnitzmeier (Wiggle-Honda) and Jo Kiesanowksi (Tibco) at 14km; fortunately, none of the three suffered injury and were all back onboard within seconds.

The first pass of the finish line at 35.5km marked the beginning of the first sprint and 2009/2010 victor Kirsten Wilde took the top points closely followed by Rochelle Gilmore (Wiggle-Honda) and Marta Tagliaferro (Mcipollini-Giordana). Next, the riders turned north-west and headed out into the desert, heading across open country - a change of direction that turned the headwind into a tailwind with speeds increasing dramatically. Several teams took advantage of this, putting fast riders with useful domestiques out at the front; this rapidly led to the peloton breaking up into four groups with a lead group of fifty out in front.  29.5km later they arrived at Al Wukair for the second sprint, with Emma Johansson (Orica-AIS), Chloe Hosking (Hitec-UCK) and Tiffany Cromwell (Orica) first, second and third this time around.

Some 10km further on, now back at Al Wakra, the race followed the earlier route back toward the finish line - which brought an unwelcome return of the headwind, effectively finishing off any chance those riders who had failed to secure a place in the lead group had of winning the stage. Much of this final section was straight, culminating with a 1.8km along a wide road to the line, which always promised a high-speed bunch sprint. The leaders had an advantage of 2'30" going into the final 10km thanks largely to Trixi Worrack of Specialized-Lululemon taking control and driving it along at a high rate of knots. A little later, Gracie Elvin (Orica) launched an attack; a move that, had nobody have gone after her, might potentially have been a winning move. It was not to be, however - Lisa Brennauer (Specialized-Lululemon), Liebet de Vocht (Rabo-Liv-Giant) and, most crucially, Chloe Hosking (Hitec-UCK) went after her. Valentina Scandolara (Mcipollini-Giordana) broke away from the chase group for an impressive attempt at joining the leaders but, when nobody was willing to work with her, she faced the wind alone and was eventually reabsorbed by the second group.

Chloe Hosking

Elvin, Brennauer, de Vocht and Hosking had 45" with 2km to go. De Vocht was first to launch, but Elvin and Hosking overcame her rapidly and started their own private race; finally Hosking - an ex-rock climber who packs formidable ability in the mountains and the sprints into her 1.61m frame - got the upper hand, finding a last reserve of power that Elvin lacked to gain a fantastic start to the season for her team.

Stage 1 Top Ten
1 Chloe HOSKING HPU 2h23'51"
2 Gracie ELVIN GEW ST
3 Lisa BRENNAUER SLU ST
4 Liesbet DE VOCHT RBW ST
5 Marta TAGLIAFERRO MCG +10"
6 Kirsten WILD SKI +10"
7 Simona FRAPPORTI BPK +10"
8 Shelley OLDS TIB +10"
9 Emma JOHANSSON GEW +10"
10 Eleonora VAN DIJK SLU +10"
(Full result here)

Chloe Hosking is on Twitter - follow her here.
Chloe's team manager Karl Lima is also on Twitter and provides live updates from the races his team enter.

Stage 2: Camel Race Track - Al Khor Corniche 96km

Hey, who needs a team? Kirsten Wild overpowers with old-fashioned superior strength

Don't like cycling in strong wind? Then you'd probably best not book any cycle tours of Qatar - Stage 2 was a carbon copy of 2012's Stage 1, right down to a powerful headwind that strained the leg muscles throughout much of the parcours. Setting off from Ash Shahaniyah camel racing track (25°24'22.20"N 51°12'37.42"E) some 34km north-west of capital city Doha (25°24'20.66"N 51°12'39.51"E), the riders headed south-east for 2.87km on a flat road before arriving at a junction where they turned north into the desert and the wind, passing a zoo and game reserve at Lekhraib after 4km. Xiu-Jie Jiang (Chongming-Giant) and Audrey Cordon (France) got tactics off to a fine start with an attack at 8km but, both of them too far behind Chloe Hosking yesterday, the peloton showed little concern and only Malgorzata Jasinska (Mcipollini-Giordana) responded, waiting for the gap to half a minute before she successfully bridged. This initial section rises no more than a few metres but is very exposed, possibly once again leading to a hard time for the riders if it's windy.

Continuing north, the race reached a junction and turned left to follow an arrow-straight road north-west for 13.6km to a sub-station (25°43'31.04"N 51°10'15.93"E) marking the stage's first intermediate sprint, where Jiang took the top points with Jasinska and Cordon second and third. This led to a situation - with the gap now at a massive nine minutes, Jiang's bonus three seconds made her virtual race leader; Orica-AIS got on the case with every member of the team driving the pace ever higher to ensure the peloton made up time. Five of them - Tiffany Cromwell, Gracie Elvin, Amanda Spratt, Loes Gunnewijk and Emma Johansson - were joined by Chloe Hosking (Hitec-UCK), Lululemon riders Trixi Worrack and Ellen van Dijk and Kirsten Wild of Argos-Shimano to form a nine-rider break that took advantage of a change in direction, got away and reduced the gap to a more manageable three minutes - however, they couldn't catch the leaders in time to prevent them passing through the second intermediate sprint in the same order as earlier.

Then, 63km in, the three were caught; having worked so hard for so long in the wind, Jiang and Cordon could stay at the front no longer and dropped away, drifting back to the peloton. Now ten riders vied with one another, aware that - as tends to the way in this race - the stage was going to come down to a sprint finish. The peloton tried catch up so that the teams could decide who'd be in pole position, but Orica kept pushing hard and, at 10km to go, the gap had actually increased slightly - testament to Orica's tactical skills.

At Simsima, the riders continued straight ahead towards Al Khawr, the leaders attacking and counter-attacking one another all the way as they passed under the hundreds of pylons carry power cables away over the desert but, knowing now that the peloton was too far behind, they allowed their speed to fall off a little so as to save energy for the last dash to the line. Cromwell tried to take advantage, attacking with 5km to go, but was immediately caught by Wild; it was Wild who brought in Spratt when she tried her own attack a short while later. Interesting - Wild, with no team mates to support her and surrounded by a gang of strong Orica riders, was doing nothing less than taking control, bossing the race. She's enjoyed enormous success in this race with two General Classification victories to her name; was she going to go for an heroic stage win today?

Trixi Worrack made a splendid attempt at wresting victory
from an unstoppable Kirsten Wild

Worrack attacked next and, now that the finish was dangerously close, the entire group were on her instantly. Then Johansson tried, laying down sufficient power for Spratt to be jettisoned off the back and right out of the group, but the rest wasted no more time than they had in chasing Worrack and entered the final 300m en masse. Without the luxury of a lead-out - or indeed, any sort of team tactics - Wild opted instead for sheer brute strength, a technique not seen so often as it once was on this sort of parcours but one which, when it works, leads to spectacular victories. This time, it worked perfectly: Worrack tried to match her, but Wild was simply too strong and took the stage. Chloe Hosking, crossing in fourth place, recorded the same time and thus retains her 6" lead in the General Classification.

Stage 2 Top Ten
1 Kirsten WILD SKI 2h38'54"
2 Trixi WORRACK SLU ST
3 Ellen VAN DIJK SLU ST
4 Chloe HOSKING HPU ST
5 Emma JOHANSSON GEW ST
6 Gracie ELVIN GEW ST
7 Malgorzta JASINSKA MCG ST
8 Tiffany CROMWELL GEW ST
9 Loes GUNNEWIJK GEW +06"
10 Amanda SPRATT GEW +14"
(Full stage result)

General Classification after Stage 2
1 Chloe HOSKING HPU 5h02'33"
2 Gracie ELVIN GEW +06"
3 Kirsten WILD SKI +09"
4 Trixi WORRACK SLU +16"
5 Eleonora VAN DIJK SLU +18"
6 Emma JOHANSSON GEW +19"
7 Tiffany CROMWELL GEW +21"
8 Lisa BRENNAUER SLU +1'38"
9 Rochelle GILMORE WHT +1'50"
10 Marta TAGLIAFERRO MCG +1'51"
(Full General Classification)

Stage winner Kirsten Wild is on Twitter, send her your congratulations and follow her by clicking here.
Race leader Chloe Hosking is also on Twitter, she can be found here.

Stage 3: Al Thakhira - Madinat Al Shamal 112.5km

Wild does it again!

After setting off from Al Thakhira (Al Dhakira on some maps; 25°44'9.50"N 51°32'6.92"E) on the eastern coast, the riders faced 60km of desert road crossing the entire country to the western coast at Al Zubara - this first section also formed the first section of Stage 2 in 2012, but this year is being raced in the opposite direction. Al Zubara is home to a famous fort which looks medieval but was in fact constructed in 1938 on the foundations of an earlier fort. It remained in military use until the 1980s, also serving as a coastguard station, before being restored as a museum - visitors are asked to make a donation on entry. It also marks the beginning of the first sprint (25°58'31.90"N 51° 2'42.01"E).

As predicted, speeds were high with a tailwind blowing the peloton across the country from the south-east, driving the average speed during the first hour to a blistering 48kph and encouraging numerous riders to attempt to take advantage with attacks - however, with the peloton reaching top speeds of more than 60kph in places, nobody could get away. Several riders had punctures in the first stretch, including Kim de Baat (Netherlands) at 42km, Rochelle Gilmore at 40km and British rider Katie Colclough (Specialized-Lululemon) 5km before the first intermediate sprint, closely followed by riders from Be Pink and Chongming-Giant.

Argos-Shimano worked together to get their riders into an ideal position to grab points at the sprint and their efforts paid off: Stage 2 winner Kirsten Wild was the first one through, Charlotte Becker was third while Hitec-UCK's Chloe Hosking took second. Then, just as the race turned north a few kilometres up the road, a crash - a big one, splitting the peloton into pieces and allowing a group of 42 riders to get away on the 23.5km stretch to Abu Al Duloof. With this group counting numerous big-hitting favourites among its number, the pace stayed high and it wasn't long before some members found the going too tough and dropped away, reducing it down to 18 at the 75km point.

Wiggle-Honda rider/manager/owner Rochelle
Gilmore crashed hard and was disqualified

The leaders kept up a high pace, rapidly inserting a 35" gap between themselves and a second group that included devastatingly fast sprinter Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle-Honda). Bronzini has spent a lot of time in second groups in this race; now she and team leader (and manager and owner) Rochelle Gilmore enlisted other riders to help them try to give chase; bizarrely, riders from rival teams with riders well-placed in the lead group seemed willing to chip in - a fine example of the unpredictability that makes women's professional cycling so fascinating.

At Madinat Al Shamal the riders entered a circuit and, 13km later, crossed the finish line for the first time, also beginning the second intermediate sprint - Lisa Brennauer (Specialized-Lululemon) took the top points at the second intermediate sprint with Chantal Blaak (Tibco) and Kirsten Wild right behind her for second and third. Several riders went down in another crash as they went through; Gilmore hit the road hard and reported after the race that she may have broken a collarbone. To add to her woe the judges, having apparently decided that she and Xiu-Jie Jiang's riding was to blame for the crash, disqualified both of them.

The chasers turned up the pressure and most of the lead group were caught, though eight riders remained out in front - a dangerous situation for the rest because, if that group could get into the final part of the race with a decent advantage, they'd almost certainly be able to choose from among themselves who would win. Because of that, the pressure was turned up even higher; the last of the lead group were caught with 4km to go and the riders approached the finish together.

Poor Chloe Hosking had awful luck with a front wheel puncture 500m from the finish - fortunately, since she was within the final 3km, she was awarded the same time as the lead group, mitigating the damage; unfortunately, due to time bonuses, she loses her General Classification lead and is now trailing by 3". Meanwhile, out at the front of the race Kirsten Wild, who set a new record for Tour of Qatar stage victories with a fourth yesterday (and also holds the record for most General Classification victories in this race), covered every attack and beat it with a fifth today - another superb effort by a rider who combines intelligence and strength and is one of the finest sprinters in the world today. Ellen van Dijk (Specialized-Lululemon), who had led until the Dutch superhero powered past her, was right behind her for second; Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle-Honda) followed for third.

Stage 3 Top Ten
1 Kirsten Wild (Argos-Shimano) 2h28'15"
2 Ellan van Dijk (Specialized-Lululemon) ST
3 Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle-Honda) +02"
4 Marta Tagliaferro (Mcipollini-Giordana) ST
5 Shelley Olds (Tibco-To The Top) +04"
6 Simona Frapporti (Be Pink) +05"
7 Trixi Worrack (Specialized-Lululemon) ST
8 Emma Johansson (Orica-AIS) ST
9 Gracie Elvin (Orica-AIS) ST
10 Tiffany Cromwell (Orica-AIS) ST
(Full stage result when available)

General Classification after Stage 3
1 Kirsten WILD (Argos-Shimano) 7h30'43"
2 Chloe HOSKING (Hitec-UCK) +03"
3 Gracie ELVIN (Orica-AIS) +16"
4 Ellen van Dijk (Specialized-Lululemon) +17"
5 Trixi WORRACK (Specialized-Lululemon) +26"
6 Emma JOHANSSON (Orica-AIS) +29"
7 Tiffany CROMWELL (Orica-AIS) +31"
8 Lisa BRENNAUER (Specialized-Lululemon) +1'52"
9 Marta TAGLIAFERRO (Mcipollini-Giordana) +1'58"
10 Lauren KITCHEN (Wiggle-Honda) +2'02"
(Full GC when available)
Kelly Druyts (TopSport-Vlaanderen) did not start; Xiu-Jie Jiang, Lina Shi (both Chongming-Giant), Rochelle Gilmore (Wiggle-Honda) and Liesbet de Vocht (Rabo-Liv-Giant) did not finish. Liesbet de Vocht's crash - image.

Stage 4: Sealine Beach Resort - Doha Corniche 86.5km

And the race goes Wild!

Stage 4 begans at the Sealine Beach Resort (24°51'37.76"N 51°30'53.00"E), a modern tourist site a few kilometres south-west of Mesaieed, then reversed the first section of Stage 1 to head through Al Wakra, location of the first sprint (25°10'43.96"N 51°36'12.82"E) and back into Doha for the grand finish at Doha Corniche. When the riders arrived at the Museum of Islamic Art roundabout, they continued straight ahead rather than turning right to return to the museum and crossed the finish line for the first time after 1km; this also marked the entry into a 6km circuit about which riders completed five laps. The second sprint began on the second passing of the finish line.

Unusually for Qatar at this time of year, the wind dropped considerably today, making the stage a different sort of race to the previous three - in an attempt to make the most of it, several riders and groups began their attacks within the first kilometres. Hitec-UCK put an enormous amount of effort into their attempt, hoping no doubt to help Chloe Hosking win back the three seconds she needed to retake the General Classification lead, but as the race left Mesiaeed behind and struck out across the desert for the coast the peloton was simply too fast and the riders remained together.

Kirsten Wild (Argos-Shimano) began the day with a 3" advantage over Hosking, but being a rider as wise as she is strong she knew that she should take any opportunity that came her way to win more time - and so a battle began on the way to the first sprint, with Hosking ducking into the Dutch rider's slipstream in the hope of slingshotting past for the points. Hosking has, on countless occasions, shown herself to be a remarkable sprinter; however, at 22 years of age, she doesn't yet have the experience or physical power of 30-year-old Wild and found herself simply unable to get past. Ellen van Dijk (Specialized-Lululemon) was on their tail and took third. With victory now looking more certain, Wild's Argos-Shimano team concentrated on providing protection rather than keeping breaks in check, showing no concern at all when a group of nine split off and headed away up the road - with best-placed rider Carmen Small (Specialized-Lululemon) setting off this morning with a disadvantage of almost four minutes to Wild, there was really no need to expend energy pulling them back at this point. Other teams followed suit; it was only when the gap reached 1'25" that Wiggle-Honda (presumably seeking to mitigate damages following the loss of team owner and leader Rochelle Gilmore yesterday) and the Italian national squad (presumably happy to grant a request for help from Wiggle's Italian superstar Giorgia Bronzini) combined forces and chased them down, chopping almost half a minute off the gap by the time the race entered the first of the five circuits.

By the beginning of the second lap, the gap was down to 45" and rapidly diminishing - though it still left Jasmin Glaesser (Tibco), Audrey Cordon (France) and Shelley Olds (Tibco), as the fastest in the break, to take the points on offer at the second intermediate sprint. The break's time out in front was almost over by the start of lap three with their advantage slashed to only 20"; when it fell to 15" Cordon launched a fine and picturesque solo attack, but was quickly caught by the super-fast Small. Jessie MacLean bridged and looked capable of overtaking, but as her Orica-AIS team mates were driving the peloton after Small and Cordon she then declined to go in case they went with her - probably a wise move, because Cordon had the strength to mount another attack towards the end of the third lap, though she couldn't fend off a counter attack by Lucinda Brand (Rabo-Liv-Giant).

As the penultimate lap loomed, Argos-Shimano decided the time was right to seize full control of the race - but Orica-AIS weren't about to let them have it all their own way and revealed themselves to have plans of domination too, as was seen when British rider Katie Colclough (Specialized-Lululemon) to have a go at a solo break of her own and found she had both Orica's Emma Johansson and Argos in its entirety on her back. Needless to say, she didn't get far. Lululemon now resorted to trickery, sending Small on another attack which then turned out to be a smokescreen intended to divert attention from an attack by her team mate Lauren Rowney over on the other side of the road. It didn't work: Argos and Orica were on Small the moment she made her move but were sufficiently alert to spot what was going on and stopped Rowney in her tracks too.

Kirsten Wild wins for a record third time

As the final lap began Kirsten Wild sat behind an Argos plalanx - and right behind her sat Hosking, whose Hitec-UCK sent Elisa Longo-Borghini on an attack in an attempt to tie up a few Argos riders, hoping to force them to expend energy they'd need to keep their leader safe as the finish approached. This tactic worked no better than Lululemon's tricks: Argos simply cranked up the pace and pulled the entire peloton with them as they chased and caught her, at which point her team mate Emilia Fahlin took over. This time it was Orica who responded, dealing with her as effortlessly as Argos had dealt with Longo-Borghini.

When the race entered the final 500m, the front of the peloton turned orange as riders from the Netherlands national team swarmed up, apparently wanting to assist Wild. This almost proved her undoing for, realising that the sudden increase in numbers would make it harder for any rider to get through, Hosking decided the time was right to begin what she hoped would be her winning move. Once again, however, Wild's greater experience and strength gave her the upper hand - while Hosking had needed to move to the other side of the road to select a clear path for her final sprint, Wild was able to muscle her way through along the centre of the road before fending off Brand and Marta Tagliaferro (Mcipollini-Giordana) as she sprinted away to a record third General Classification victory. Hosking took the same time in eighth place, but is second overall at +14".

Stage 4 Top Ten
1 Kirsten WILD (Argos-Shimano) 2h09'38"
2 Lucinda BRAND (Rabo-Liv-Giant) ST
3 Marta TAGLIAFERRO (Mcipollini-Giordana) ST
4 Giorgia BRONZINI (Wiggle-Honda) ST
5 Simona FRAPPORTI (Be Pink) ST
6 Maria Giulia CONFALONIERI (Italy) ST
7 Trixi WORRACK (Specialized-Lululemon) ST
8 Chloe HOSKING (Hitec-UCK) ST
9 Barbara GUARISCHI (Italy) ST
10 Pascale JEULAND (France) ST
(Full stage result)

Final General Classification
1 Kirsten WILD (Argos-Shimano) 9h40'08"
2 Chloe HOSKING (Hitec-UCK) +14"
3 Ellen VAN DIJK (Specialized-Lululemon) +29"
4 Gracie ELVIN (Orica-AIS) +29"
5 Trixi WORRACK (Specialized-Lululemon) +39"
6 Emma JOHANSSON (Orica-AIS) +42"
7 Tiffany CROMWELL (Orica-AIS) +44"
8 Lisa BRENNAUER GER (Specialized-Lululemon) +2'05"
9 Marta TAGLIAFERRO (Mcipollini-Giordana) +2'07"
10 Lauren KITCHEN (Wiggle-Honda) +2'15"
(Full General Classification)

Follow Kirsten Wild on Twitter

Equal prizes to be awarded at UCI World Champs

Women's cycling has been riding a wave ever since the women's road race unexpectedly became one of the most-watched events at the London Olympics - so much so that, after years of calls from riders and fans alike, the UCI today approved a proposal to award equal prizes at almost all men's and women's World Championships.

With races vanishing for lack of sponsorship while the sport's governing body does little to save them, the UCI has repeatedly been accused of not caring a hoot about women's cycling. That may or may not be true; either way, the new equal prizes prove that, when women's races are given the coverage they need, the sport gains strength and moves a little closer to getting the respect and being taken as seriously as it deserves.

The new rules will be in place for the start of 2013, meaning that riders at February's World Cyclo Cross Championships will be first to benefit. They do not apply to the Team Time Trial World Championships where prizes are funded differently.

Women's Tour of NZ cancelled

2012 Tour of New Zealand winner
Evelyn Stevens

Thanks to the cost of new drugs testing procedures required by the UCI as it desperately tries to hang on to some shred of credibility following the investigation into Lance Armstrong and US Postal, the Women's Tour of New Zealand has been cancelled for next year as organisers are unable to find the estimated figure needed to comply with the new rules.

"The UCI won't allow Drug Free Sport New Zealand to conduct tests in UCI events in New Zealand, this means they will send a UCI drugs inspector to New Zealand, we will have to import all testing devices from overseas, do at least 20 tests during the five days of racing, get a license to export human samples overseas, send all samples to a laboratory in Sydney to be tested all at our cost, this is approximately $30,000 per event," race director Jorge Sandoval told the Manawatu Standard, adding that he understands the need for the new measures.

$30,000? That's a lot of money in women's cycling, with most organisers spending much of the year grubbing around for tiny sponsorship deals and trying their hardest to persuade new backers to come on board when they could have been developing and improving their races, which are then run on budgets that don't resemble shoestrings so much as frayed bits of cotton thread. In UCI terms, however, it's nothing - it'd probably just about cover the average professional men's team's annual laundry bill. There's probably more than thirty grand in small change down the back of the comfy sofas littered about the UCI's swanky HQ in Aigle.

Get your wallet out, Pat!

Following years of criticism, the UCI has declared itself serious about securing the future of women's cycling and helping it to grow and develop. It would be, surely, in their interest to do so - viewing figures for the women's road race at the Olympics killed off the misconception that there's no sizable audience for women's cycling forever; promoting and developing the sport would surely make it profitable and bring even more funds into the UCI's coffers. The Tour of New Zealand is a major, five-day, international event that attracts the finest athletes cycling has to offer and it's followed by huge numbers of fans around the world - are the UCI willing to step in and save it, either by stumping up funds to cover the cost drugs testing or by introducing a scheme to help races that can't come up with an extra $30,000?

We shall see. What's more, the outcome will let us know if Pat and pals really meant it when they said they wanted to help women's cycling. If not, they can wave goodbye to another chunk of credibility as we wave goodbye to another race.

28th Profwielerronde Oostvoorne

02.08.12 Official site 
Netherlands, National

Start/finish on Burgmeister Letterweg, anti-clockwise laps.

The race came alive halfway through the total of 39 laps with six riders breaking away in search of a better-than-usual chance of glory due to the absence of Marianne Vos, who won this race in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Chantal Blaak (AA Drink-Leontien.nl), winner in 2008 and second place for the last three years, fought hard for victory but was ultimately outpaced by Linda Ringlever (NWV Groningen), while Natalie van Gogh (Ibis) took third.

Linda Ringlever

Women's results

  1.  Linda Ringlever NWV Groningen/Bike4Air
  2.  Chantal Blaak AA Drink-Leontien.nl
  3.  Natalie van Gogh Ibis Cycles

  4.  Jarmila Machacova 
  5.  Pauliena Rooijakkers Dolmans-Boels 
  6.  Marjolein Claessen RSC De Zuidwesthoek 
  7.  Melanie Woering WV Zeeuws-Vlaanderen 
  8.  Monique Van De Ree Skil-Argos 
  9.  Inge Klep RSC De Zuidwesthoek 
  10.  Janine Van Der Meer PRC Delta  
  11.  Joukje Braam WV Zeeuws-Vlaanderen 
  12.  Mascha Pijnenborg Dolmans-Boels 
  13.  Hannah Welter GWC De Adelaar 
  14.  Natasja Nieuwenhuizen Westland Wil Vooruit 
  15.  Henriette Woering WV Zeeuws-Vlaanderen 
  16.  Hilde Oudman NWV Groningen 
  17.  Ines Klok WV Zeeuws-Vlaanderen 
  18.  Aafke Eshuis Ibis Cycles 
  19.  Daisy Rodenburg RWC Ahoy 
  20.  Nelleke Blaak RWC Ahoy 
  21.  Daniële Lissenberg 
  22.  Liesbeth Zeeman Hoornse Ren En Toerclub 
  23.  Caroline Kegge PRC Delta  
  24.  Anneke Lubeek DRC De Mol 
  25.  Gina Hofland RWC Ahoy

Armitstead on the issues facing women's cycling

Lizzie Armitstead

In an interview with Cycling News, Olympic silver medalist Lizzie Armitstead has hit out at "sexism and inequality" in cycling. That inequality exists is beyond doubt - it's common knowledge that many women even at the top level receive no salary at all while their male counterparts are paid a guaranteed minimum wage and the prizes awarded to race winners in women's cycling are, quite frankly, laughable compared to those in the majority of men's races. Many people will say that Armitstead is wrong in linking this to sexism and insist it's due to the harsh realities faced by the sport resulting from the simple fact that there is far less money in women's cycling. However, what the article doesn't make immediately clear is that she isn't saying that race organisers and UCI officials are overtly sexist (some of them may well be sexist, of course, but few of them would allow themselves to be seen as such) - she's saying that women's cycling's problems stem from a more deeply-rooted sexism, a belief in society that athletic competition between females can never be as exciting as athletic competition between men, and that the resulting smaller audience is why women's cycling doesn't get the attention it deserves. This  is a point of view that may not necessarily be correct; but it's a valid one shared by many and the UCI, as the body responsible for developing competitive cycling, has a duty to explore it.

Armitstead believes that one possible solution would be "forcing ProTour teams to have a women's team." That is certainly an option, and seems a good one at first - many people also support the idea of forcing race organisers to hold women's races alongside their men's events. But would it work? Would teams devote the time, money and media to their female riders as they do to their men?

When whether Team Sky should sponsor a women's team, Armitstead hits the nail on the head - "I think Team Sky is missing an opportunity," she says. That is the real answer: persuading, rather than forcing, teams that it is in their interest to have a women's team. That way, they'll give them the backing they deserve. Force them to run women's teams and they'll do so resentfully, fielding athletes who have been given the cheapest minimum of coaching, riding bikes that are only a fraction of the value and quality that the men on the team ride. Result: in the eyes of the public, who in many cases will not understand the underlying issues, female cyclists appear less talented and less competitive than the men. Sky have had plenty of opportunity to put together a women's team and have a budget more than high enough to run several; it seems clear, therefore, that they have no interest in doing so (note that they do sponsor female track cyclists - who enjoy a higher public profile than female road cyclists).

So, how can they be persuaded that women's teams will bring them more glory and, crucially, more sponsors? The riders themselves are already doing all they can - they ride to their limits, even if they've had to work a forty-hour week in order to be able to afford to be at the races in which they compete, and they raise the issues facing their sport whenever they can, just as Armitstead is doing. There are a few team officials and managers doing a superb job too - Stefan Wyman, owner of Britain's Matrix-Prendas, is a glowing example and has recently written a series of informative articles on the subject (the latest of which can be found here); so to is Karl Lima, manager of the Hitec Products-Mistral Home - both have fought for many years to get a fair deal for the athletes on their own teams and in women's cycling in general. Rabobank is another admirable case and provides excellent support for its highly successful women's team.

"The race with the Dutch girl and the English girl" -
Armitstead and Vos follow Olga Zabelinskaya

It seems, then, that it's up to fans. We can do a very great deal to save and improve the sport we love, especially right now - it's notable that people who have previously had no interest in cycling at all suddenly know the names Marianne Vos and Lizzie Armitstead because of the Women's Road Race at the Olympics (or at the very least are talking about "the race with the Dutch girl and the English girl" - hey, it's a start). We can help to make sure they keep talking about it - all we need to do is tell anyone who will listen why women's cycling is as great and as fascinating a sport as it is, write blogs about it, Tweet anything we find about it, share our knowledge and enthusiasm, go to races and encourage others to do so too. That way, we pass on the love to new fans and increase the audience, which in turn makes women's cycling far more tempting to potential sponsors - and it's their money that will persuade the teams and race organisers to make space for the women.