The 2012 Ladies Tour of Qatar was the third edition of the Ladies Tour of Qatar cycling stage race. It was rated by the UCI as category 2.1, and was held between 3 and 5 February

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, in Qatar.

Stages

Stage 1

;1 February 2012 – Camelodrome to Al Khawr, Extremely windy conditions made stage 1 of the Ladies’ Tour of Qatar very eventful. After taking off early making the best of the tailwind, 7 riders battled it out for victory in Al Khor. In the last kilometres title holder Ellen van Dijk tried her luck taking with her

Loes Gunnewijk Loes Gunnewijk (born 27 November 1980 in Groenlo) is a Dutch former professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2004 and 2015. Gunnewijk was a member of the Dutch national team together with Ellen van Dijk, Marianne Vos and ...

and Kirsten Wild. But the front group bunched together again for the final sprint. Wild eventually flew to victory beating Hosking and

Van Dijk Van Dijk () is a Dutch toponymic surname meaning "from (the) dike". With 56,441 people, it was the fifth most common name in the Netherlands in 2007. Abroad, people with this surname usually abandoned the ij digraph, resulting in names like Van Dy ...

to the line and claiming the first stage of the 2012 edition.

Stage 2

;2 February 2012 – Al Zubarah to Madinat ash Shamal, Straight from the start, just after noon, the pack broke up into several groups as soon as the first kilometres. Like on the previous day, a group of 11 and then 9 riders managed to power away. At km 28, the group including

, white jersey Hosking, Worrack, Golden jersey Wild, Duster, Guderzo,

Arndt Arndt or Arnd is a German masculine given name, a short form of Arnold, as well as a German patronymic surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Arndt Bause (1936–2003), German composer of popular songs *Arndt von Bohlen und H ...

, Gunnewijk and Bruins could enjoy a 28" lead over a first slim bunch of chasers. Eventually, as the riders entered the final circuit around Madinat Al Shamal, the leaders lost ground with the wind blowing sideways. At the second intermediate sprint (first passage on the line, km 78), won by

ahead of Wild and

, the gap had dropped down to 20". The leaders were finally caught at km 85 and over 40 riders were bunched together again. Despite several attempts, the pack remained together until the second passage on the line. At km 89, Worrack, Arndt, Wild and Visser managed to take off. Two kilometres later, the first two insisted and the gaps grew: 20" over Wild and Visser and 50" over the peloton. With just four kilometres left, Worrack and Arndt could enjoy a 1’15 advantage over the first two chasers and 1’35 over the pack. Victory finally went to Trixi Worrack outsprinting her day's rival and claiming her first success in Qatar while Judith Arndt captured the overall leader's Golden jersey.

Stage 3

;3 February 2012 – Doha to Doha, The third and final stage of the Ladies’ Tour of Qatar competed in windy conditions, ended in a bunched sprint. The peloton remained packed all the way to the finish at a very fast pace due to the tailwind all the way to the finish. Decision was to be made after a bunched sprint. Like on day 1, Kirsten Wild powered to victory. The Dutch rider beat her compatriots Ellen van Dijk and Adrie Visser to the line. Germany's Judith Arndt managed to keep control of her leader's Golden jersey and wins this 2012 edition of the event.

Final classifications

General classification

Stages

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Final classifications

General classification

Points Classification

Youth Classification

Team Classification

References

External links

See also