Four-time champion Kirsten Wild to miss season opener
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The Ladies Tour of Qatar got the season underway(Image credit: AFP Photo)
Nothing but the road and the sand in the Ladies Tour of Qatar(Image credit: ASO/B. Bade)
The riders await the start of stage 1 of the Ladies Tour of Qatar(Image credit: ASO)
Stage 3 of the Ladies Tour of Qatar(Image credit: ASO/B. Bade)
The 15 teams which will compete at the 2015 Ladies Tour of Qatar have been announced by its race organiser ASO. The seventh edition of the race, which takes place from February 3-6, will be missing four time champion Kirsten Wild as she concentrates on track racing this season, opening the door for other sprinters to claim overall victory. Two-time runner up Chloe Hosking will lead her new Wiggle Honda team alongside teammate Georgina Bronzini and will be aiming to be standing on the top step of the podium in 2015.
The flat and windy roads of Qatar suit the characteristics of the sprinters and in the absence of Wild, the opportunity arises for a rider to add their name to the short list of winners and lay down the early season marker of the fastest finisher in the bunch
2011 winner Ellen van Dijk will make her season debut with Boels Dolmans in Qatar with 2014 UCI world cup winner Elizabeth Armitstead. The duo are both capable of claiming overall victory and will enter the race with a reinforced squad for 2015.
There are also three national teams selected for the race from Australia, France and Italy.
The 15 teams selected for the Ladies Tour of Qatar:
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