HTC-Highroad has announced its six rider roster for the Ladies Tour of Qatar, which begins in the Gulf peninsular this coming Wednesday. The US-registered team is hoping to apply the experience of its Dutch riders on the flat, windswept desert roads.
Although the race’s three stages are almost certain to end in sprints the team is leaving its über-sprinter Ina Teutenberg behind, as it did last year. The team will not be short of speed though, as it includes Chloe Hosking, who finished third on stage one last year.
The team’s best finisher in the 2010 race though was Dutchwoman Adrie Visser, who took seventh overall. The rest of the team will be made up of strong rouleurs Charlotte Becker, Emilia Fahlin, Evelyn Stevens and Ellen Van Dijk.
"Qatar is flat and the weather is normally good, but hopefully the conditions will be tough because our Dutch riders in particular are experts at racing on open, windy roads," said Jens Zemke, HTC-Highroad sports director.
"If the field splits apart in the cross-winds, then they'll be at a real advantage if they're on the right sides of the moves, they're very familiar with that kind of racing."
Zemke is new to HTC-Highroad, having spent seven years with Nürnberger Versicherung and the last two with the Cervélo TestTeam. He has however been working closely with a number of the riders, and has previously worked with Becker on two of her three years at Nürnberger Versicherung.
"I've been with them for eight days in Mallorca at our training camp and they gave a really good impression,” he explained, “they've all done their homework and are ready to go."
"It's my first race with the team, so it'd be great to get a good result, particularly as it's our first race of the season, too. An early result is always good for riders' motivation."
HTC-Highroad team for the Ladies Tour of Qatar:
Charlotte Becker, Emilia Fahlin, Chloe Hosking, Evelyn Stevens, Ellen Van Dijk and Adrie Visser.