Kirsten Wild is back in Doha after a gap of one year to signal her World Championships ambitions.
The Dutch star Wild has spent the winter taking part in track competitions, but is happy to be back in Doha for her fifth Ladies Tour of title.
“It is always nice to be in Doha. I really like the racing here. It is my type of race...the winds and the course suits me,” Wild told the Gulf Times.
The tour begins today with a preview of the World Championships course in Doha, with a tricky 97km route that could shatter the peloton thanks to the ever-present crosswinds.
“It is good to see the course…you can feel a bit what kind of conditions would be here when we have the worlds here in October. We will also know where we have to improve.”
Talking about her absence last year, the Team Hitec Products rider said, “Last year, the tour was quite close to the world summer track and I was focusing on it so there was not enough time.”
With last year’s winner and the world champion Lizzie Armitstead opting to miss the Tour of Qatar, the Dutchwoman, who won in 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014, will be seeking a her fifth title.
“I have won four times but it doesn’t mean that I’d win here again. I feel a bit of pressure as there are a lot of strong riders in the tour,” the 33-year-old, who has nine stages to her name, said.
“I don’t know much about my form. I did not race on the road this season so far. I get a lot of energy by seeing the nice road here. I have already started the track season and am in the middle of it,” she said.
But, wild has confidence in her team, which is a mix of experience and youth.
“We have a nice bunch of strong riders we did not race much together this year, but we have confidence to put up a good show. Our team is a mix of experience and young,” the sprint start said.
Wild would up against perennial podium finisher in Qatar Chloe Hosking, who comes with a reinforced Wiggle High team.
“It’s not a secret that I love racing in the desert,” Hosking, who has finished in second, third and second place overall in the last three editions, said.
“I love the winds, the echelons, the battles to make the front. And the Ladies Tour of Qatar is one of the only races on the calendar that offers that, day after day, for four days.
“This year’s edition is a big goal for me,” the Australian said.
“I’ve finished on the podium here for the past three years and I’d like to continue the trend, although the top step would be nice, if only so I look as tall as the other girls I race against,” said Hosking, who missed much of the end of last season with a hand injury.
Hosking is looking forward to her return to the top level of the peloton. “It’s been a long time since I raced with the ‘big girls’ so I’m nervous to get back in the international peloton,” the Australian said.
“It’s always hard to know if what you have done over the winter – or summer for me – is enough to stay with the top girls. Adding the whole comeback from injury just makes things doubly uncertain.
 Stage two is a 120km dash from the Sheikh Faisal Museum to the Al Khor Corniche. The third stage heads out from the Al Zubarah fort to Madinat Al Shamal, with the final stage a short but intense 73km stage that starts from Aspire Zone and concludes with 12 laps of a six-km circuit on the Doha Corniche.