Trixi Worrack (Specialized-lululemon) opened her account with her new team in emphatic style with a two-up sprint victory over compatriot Judith Arndt (GreenEDGE-AIS) in the second stage of the Ladies Tour of Qatar. The two German women seized the race by the scruff of the neck in the closing 25km of the 114.5km stage, between Al Zubara Fort and Madinat Al Shamal, and rode away from race leader Kirsten Wild (Netherlands) and Dutch compatriot Adrie Visser (Skil-1t4i) to contest the stage between them.
Visser, almost surprisingly, beat Wild in the sprint for third, 2’20” behind the two Germans, with Wild’s AA Drink-Leointien.nl teammate Shelley Olds (United States) winning the sprint for fifth at 2’49”.
"I'm really happy to win a stage here in my first race with Specialized-lululemon," said Worrack. "It's hard and fun racing here and we're really enjoying racing together."
Just as had happened in the previous day’s stage, strong crosswinds at the start saw the 88-strong peloton split into several pieces almost immediately. A group of eleven riders broke clear at the front of the race, which was soon whittled down to nine, and by the 28km point it was 28 seconds clear of the first group of chasers.
Six of the nine riders had been in the winning seven-rider move on the previous day, and made up the top six of the overall classification. As well as Worrack, Arndt and Wild, there were Worrack’s Specialized-lululemon teammates Chloe Hosking, in the white jersey, and Elen van Dijk, the defending champion; Arndt was accompanied by Dutch GreenEDGE-AIS teammate Loes Gunnewijk; while Sarah Düster (Stichting Rabo), Regina Bruins (Skil-1t4i) and 2009 World champion Tatiana Guderzo (MCipollini-Giambenini) had also made the move.
With the race often decided by the closest of margins, the first intermediate sprint, after 23.5km was hotly contested, with Wild beating van Dijk and Arndt to increase her race lead. The lead over the chasers was continuing to grow and, after 44km, the nine-rider group was 1’20” clear; as they entered the finishing circuit though, the gap began to come down as the strong winds took their toll on the leaders.
Arndt managed to turn the tables on Wild at the second intermediate sprint, as the lead riders crossed the finish line for the first time after 78km, with van Dijk taking third. Their lead was just 20 seconds by now though, and, at the 85km point the race came together with the front group now numbering around forty.
The strong riders were not to be held though, and just four kilometres later Worrack, Arndt, Wild and Visser took off once more. The cohesion of the four-woman group didn’t last long though, and after just two kilometres the two Germans left the two Dutchwomen behind.
Once they were away, the time trialling power of Worrack – a former German champion – and World champion Arndt came to bear, and their lead grew. With just 4km to go, the pair led Wild and Visser by 1’15” and the rest by 1’35”, and this was to grow to 2’20” and 2’49” by the time they reached the line.
Worrack, the punchier of the two riders, managed to outjump Arndt at the finish in a close sprint. The two of them started the day just two seconds apart in the overall classification, with Arndt nine seconds behind Wild and Worrack at eleven; Worrack took ten for the stage win, to Arndt’s six, but four seconds won at the intermediate sprints proved decisive for the GreenEDGE-AIS rider, who takes the golden jersey heading into the final stage.
Result stage 2
1. Trixi Worrack (Ger) Specialized-lululemon
2. Judith Arndt (Ger) GreenEDGE-AIS
3. Adrie Visser (Ned) Skil-1t4i @ 2’20”
4. Kirsten Wild (Ned) Netherlands National Team
5. Shelley Olds (USA) United States National Team @ 2’49”
6. Martine Bras (Ned) Netherlands National Team @ 2’51”
7. Marta Bastianelli (Ita) MCipollini-Giambenini
8. Latoya Brulee (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Ridley 2012
9. Jessie MacLean (Aus) GreenEDGE-AIS
10. Valentina Scandolara (Ita) Italian National Team
Standings after stage 2
1. Judith Arndt (Ger) GreenEDGE-AIS
2. Trixi Worrack (Ger) Specialized-lululemon @ 2s
3. Kirsten Wild (Ned) Netherlands National Team @ 2’16”
4. Ellen van Dijk (Ned) Specialized-lululemon @ 2’59”
5. Chloe Hosking (Aus) Specialized-lululemon @ 3’00”