Friday 6 February 2015 14:26, UK
Britain’s Lizzie Armitstead moved into the overall lead of the Ladies Tour of Qatar by claiming her first win of the season on stage three.
The Boels-Dolmans rider, who had started the day second in the general classification, sprinted to victory at Al Khor Corniche ahead of runner-up Shelley Olds, of the United States, and third-placed Lucinda Brand, of the Netherlands.
With bonus seconds taken into account, Armitstead now moves to the top of the standings and opens up an eight-second gap over team-mate and previous leader Ellen van Dijk, who finished outside the top 10 on the day.
Chloe Hosking, who crossed the line fourth, is now nine seconds back in third.
Armitstead told Cycling Weekly: "In the final kilometres I had to do nothing, because I knew I had four girls who could go with everything and attack if they had to. I focused on saving myself for the sprint, and it all worked out.
“I’m fast, but I’m not the fastest. I have done strength training this winter but not any speed. I didn’t expect to do anything in the sprints here.”
Armitstead will now look to defend her lead in the race’s fourth and final stage on Friday, which takes the riders 101.5km from Sealine Beach Resort to Doha Corniche.
Stage three result
1 Lizzie Armitstead (GB) Boels-Dolmans, 2:27:45
2 Shelley Olds (USA) Bigla Pro Cycling, same time
3 Lucinda Brand (Ned) Rabobank-Liv, st
4 Chloe Hosking (Aus) Wiggle Honda, st
5 Pascale Jeuland (Fra) France, st
General classification
1 Lizzie Armitstead (GB) Boels-Dolmans, 7:35:24
2 Ellen van Dijk (Ned) Boels-Dolmans, +8secs
3 Chloe Hosking (Aus) Wiggle Honda, +9
4 Trixi Worrack (Ger) Velocio-SRAM, +15
5 Emma Johansson (Swe) Orica-AIS, +17
