Image 1 of 18 Amy Pieters (Giant-Shimano) wins stage 2 of the Ladies Tour of Qatar (Image credit: Bruno Bade) Image 2 of 18 The leaders of the classifications on stage 2: Melissa Hoskins, Shelley Olds and Kirsten Wild (Image credit: ASO/B. Bade) Image 3 of 18 Riders posed with camels before stage 2 (Image credit: ASO/B. Bade) Image 4 of 18 The Giant-Shimano team was in control on stage 2 of the Tour of Qatar (Image credit: ASO/B. Bade) Image 5 of 18 Crosswinds battered the peloton again (Image credit: ASO/B. Bade) Image 6 of 18 The group of leader Kirsten Wild lost time on stage 2 (Image credit: ASO/B. Bade) Image 7 of 18 Former world champion Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle Honda) (Image credit: ASO/B. Bade) Image 8 of 18 Charlotte Becker (Wiggle Honda) pulls through in the breakaway (Image credit: ASO/B. Bade) Image 9 of 18 The peloton fights the crosswinds on stage 2 (Image credit: ASO/B. Bade) Image 10 of 18 Race leader Kirsten Wild (Giant-Shimano) (Image credit: ASO/B. Bade) Image 11 of 18 Points jersey holder Shelley Olds (Image credit: ASO/B. Bade) Image 12 of 18 Giant-Shimano in control (Image credit: ASO/B. Bade) Image 13 of 18 (Image credit: ASO/B. Bade) Image 14 of 18 Amy Pieters (Giant-Shimano) wins stage 2 of the Ladies Tour of Qatar (Image credit: ASO/B. Bade) Image 15 of 18 Amy Pieters (Giant-Shimano) took over the race lead (Image credit: ASO/B. Bade) Image 16 of 18 Kirsten Wild (Giant-Shimano) kept the points jersey (Image credit: ASO/B. Bade) Image 17 of 18 Amy Pieters also took over the young riders' classification (Image credit: ASO/B. Bade) Image 18 of 18 Kirsten Wild (Giant-Shimano) poses with the local wildlife in Qatar (Image credit: ASO/B. Bade)

Another day, another crosswind and another Giant-Shimano victory. Just like her teammate Kirsten Wild the previous afternoon, Amy Pieters claimed the win on stage 2 of Ladies Tour of Qatar and moved into the gold jersey to boot, as the Dutch squad's mastery of the desert conditions once again proved total.

Pieters was one of four Giant-Shimano riders in the day's decisive 21-woman echelon, which formed after just three kilometres of racing. While her primary task was to help Wild in the event of a group finish, Pieters sensed the danger when her fellow countryman Anna van der Breggen sparked the winning move on the final lap of the finishing circuit, with 11 kilometres to go.

Pieters was adroit in policing a break that also included Charlotte Becker (Wiggle-Honda) and Inga Cilvinaite (Rusvelo). With Wild sitting comfortably in the group behind, Pieters held something of a trump card, and she played her hand wisely, working just enough to ensure the break's cohesion, but not so much as to damage her or her team's chances.

"I was in the last wheel because I had Kirsten in the group behind me, so I was waiting for the sprint," Pieters said afterwards. "If the group came back, then that was also ok because I had Kirsten in the yellow jersey behind me."

The finale took place over four laps of an exposed 14-kilometre circuit, and it had appeared that the wind would discourage any solo attacks, but Van der Breggen - whose contribution was so crucial to Marianne Vos' world championship victory in Florence in September - timed her effort well by jumping clear with the wind at her back, and found willing reinforcements in Becker, Cilvinaite and Pieters shortly afterwards.

The quartet soon built up a lead of 40 seconds, and given the lack of a bona fide sprinter in the Orica-AIS ranks, the Australian squad was understandably reluctant to take up the reins of the chase behind, lest they tow Wild, Chloe Hosking (Hitec Products) and Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle-Honda) to the line.

The cross-headwind meant that the finishing straight seemed an interminable one, but Pieters clearly had the freshest legs of the lead group, and she ground out a gap that she would never relent. Indeed, such was the level of fatigue at the end of a tough day that Pieters crossed the line all of three seconds ahead of Van der Breggen, while Becker took third.

Wild pipped the redoubtable Hosking to the sprint for fifth, 27 seconds down, but thanks to the time bonus for stage victory, Pieters had done enough to claim the overall lead. She now leads her teammate Wild by seven seconds, with Hosking a further 11 seconds back in third, and Emma Johansson (Orica-AIS) fourth at 28 seconds.

"It's good for the team because we have first and second in the general classification," said Pieters. Wild's sprint and pedigree in Qatar means that she remains the favourite for overall honours, though Pieters was coy about how Giant-Shimano would play its cards over the next two days. "I don't know, I think we're both really good. I just hope the jersey stays in the team."

Split

There was already a sense of foreboding in the peloton as it gathered for the start in the shadow of Al Zubara Fort. A relatively benign breeze had wreaked havoc on the opening day, and here on Qatar's northern coast, the gusts were considerably stiffer. Indeed, it only took three kilometres for day's decisive split to take shape. In a mirror of stage 1, the Orica-AIS team was again to the fore in forcing the issue in the crosswind. When the dust had settled, a 21-rider echelon had opened a 30-second lead, with the rest of the peloton scattered across the road.

"I expected it to break up early because there was the sidewind," Wild said. "I just think we were just lucky that there were four in the front. We didn't do the job, it was GreenEdge who started it but we directly went in it."

With riders of the quality of Pieters, Wild, Hosking, Johansson, Valentina Scandolara (Orica-AIS), Tiffany Cromwell (Specialized-Lululemon) and Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle-Honda) in the front group, it was clear, even at this early point, that this was the race-winning move.

The grand absentees from the front echelon were Shelley Olds (Ale-Cipollini) - who lay second overall as the day began - and Lizzie Armitstead (Boel-Dolmans) - who had looked comfortable at the head of the race on Tuesday. "I expected her in the front as she's normally very strong in these kind of races," Wild said of Olds.

A moment's inattentiveness in the desert can prove very costly, however, and by the 30 kilometre mark, Olds, Armitstead and the chasers were already 2:45 down. That gap extended to 3:55 by the 50-kilometre mark, and then over five minutes by the time the 21 leaders hit the finishing circuit for the first time.

Wild beat Hosking to the full complement of bonus seconds at the first sprint, and gained another second on the Australian when they contested the second sprint as they took the bell for the final lap. At that point, given the conditions, another group finish seemed inevitable. Things would not pan out quite like that, but neither Wild nor her Giant-Shimano team will be upset with the late change to the script.

Full Results 1 Amy Pieters (Ned) Team Giant - Shimano 2:53:33 2 Anna Van Der Breggen (Ned) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team 0:00:03 3 Charlotte Becker (Ger) Wiggle Honda 4 Inga Cilvinaite (Ltu) RusVelo 0:00:06 5 Kirsten Wild (Ned) Team Giant - Shimano 0:00:27 6 Chloe Hosking (Aus) Hitec Products 7 Emma Johansson (Swe) Orica - AIS 8 Olga Zabelinskaya (Rus) RusVelo 9 Jolien D'Hoore (Bel) Lotto Belisol Ladies 0:00:31 10 Melissa Hoskins (Aus) Orica - AIS 11 Valentina Scandolara (Ita) Orica - AIS 0:00:37 12 Christine Majerus (Lux) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team 13 Iris Slappendel (Ned) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team 14 Elena Cecchini (Ita) Italy 15 Trixi Worrack (Ger) Specialized - lululemon 16 Giorgia Bronzini (Ita) Wiggle Honda 17 Lauren Kitchen (Aus) Hitec Products 18 Tiffany Cromwell (Aus) Specialized - lululemon 0:00:48 19 Liesbeth De Vocht (Bel) Lotto Belisol Ladies 0:00:59 20 Julia Soek (Ned) Team Giant - Shimano 21 Sara Mustonen (Swe) Team Giant - Shimano 0:01:28 22 Anastasia Chulkova (Rus) RusVelo 0:10:50 23 Aizan Zhaparova (Rus) RusVelo 0:10:52 24 Hong Yu Liang (Chn) China Chongming-Giant Pro Cycling 25 Audrey Cordon (Fra) Hitec Products 0:11:57 26 Sarah Roy (Aus) Australia 27 Katarzyna Pawlowska (Pol) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team 28 Elise Delzenne (Fra) Specialized - lululemon 29 Alexandra Burchenkova (Rus) RusVelo 30 Elena Kuchinskaia (Rus) RusVelo 31 Roxane Fournier (Fra) France 32 Dong Yan Huang (Chn) China Chongming-Giant Pro Cycling 33 Katrin Garfoot (Aus) Australia 34 Celine Van Severen (Bel) Lotto Belisol Ladies 35 Jessie MacLean (Aus) Orica - AIS 36 Emilie Moberg (Nor) Hitec Products 37 Aurore Verhoeven (Fra) France 38 Claudia Cretti (Ita) Italy 39 Xiaoling Luo (Chn) China Chongming-Giant Pro Cycling 40 Pascale Jeuland (Fra) France 41 Shelley Olds (USA) Ale Cipollini 42 Peta Mullens (Aus) Wiggle Honda 43 Michela Pavin (Ita) Ale Cipollini 44 Fiona Dutriaux (Fra) France 45 Aude Biannic (Fra) France 46 Annalisa Cucinotta (Ita) Italy 47 Alice Algisi (Ita) Astana Bepink Womens Team 48 Béatrice Bartelloni (Ita) Wiggle Honda 49 Simona Frapporti (Ita) Astana Bepink Womens Team 50 Elizabeth Armitstead (GBr) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team 51 Loes Gunnewijk (Ned) Orica - AIS 52 Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ita) Italy 53 Fanny Riberot (Fra) France 54 Maaike Polspoel (Bel) Team Giant - Shimano 55 Rochelle Gilmore (Aus) Wiggle Honda 56 Thea Thorsen (Nor) Hitec Products 57 Romy Kasper (Ger) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team 58 Wan Yiu Jamie Wong (HKg) China Chongming-Giant Pro Cycling 59 Ni Man Song (Chn) China Chongming-Giant Pro Cycling 60 Thalita De Jong (Ned) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team 61 Marta Tagliaferro (Ita) Ale Cipollini 62 Barbara Guarischi (Ita) Ale Cipollini 63 Chantal Blaak (Ned) Specialized - lululemon 64 Emilia Fahlin (Swe) Wiggle Honda 65 Chiara Vannucci (Ita) Italy 66 Elena Berlato (Ita) Ale Cipollini 67 Marijn De Vries (Ned) Team Giant - Shimano 68 Marieke Van Wanroij (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team 69 Lisa Brennauer (Ger) Specialized - lululemon 70 Louisa Lobigs (Aus) Australia 71 Zita Stricker (Ita) Astana Bepink Womens Team 72 Yuan Yuan Tian (Chn) China Chongming-Giant Pro Cycling 73 Chloe McConville (Aus) Australia 74 Gracie Elvin (Aus) Orica - AIS 75 Lucinda Brand (Ned) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team 76 Malgorzata Jasinska (Pol) Ale Cipollini 77 Alena Amialiusik (Blr) Astana Bepink Womens Team 78 Jessica Mundy (Aus) Australia 79 Susanna Zorzi (Ita) Astana Bepink Womens Team 80 Maeia Covrig (Ita) Astana Bepink Womens Team 81 Roxanne Knetemann (Ned) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team 82 Emily Roper (Aus) Australia 83 Marion Rousse (Fra) Lotto Belisol Ladies 84 Tone Hatteland Lima (Nor) Hitec Products 85 Arianna Fidanza (Ita) Italy 0:12:06 DNF Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team DNF Isabelle Soderberg (Swe) Lotto Belisol Ladies DNF Anisha Vekemans (Bel) Lotto Belisol Ladies

Sprint 1 - Madinat AL Shamal (2nd crossing) 1 Kirsten Wild (Ned) Team Giant - Shimano 3 pts 2 Chloe Hosking (Aus) Hitec Products 2 3 Jolien D'Hoore (Bel) Lotto Belisol Ladies 1

Sprint 2 - Madinat Al Shamal (4th crossing) 1 Chloe Hosking (Aus) Hitec Products 3 pts 2 Kirsten Wild (Ned) Team Giant - Shimano 2 3 Jolien D'Hoore (Bel) Lotto Belisol Ladies 1

Points - Madinat Al Shamal 1 Amy Pieters (Ned) Team Giant - Shimano 15 pts 2 Anna Van Der Breggen (Ned) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team 12 3 Charlotte Becker (Ger) Wiggle Honda 9 4 Inga Cilvinaite (Ltu) RusVelo 7 5 Kirsten Wild (Ned) Team Giant - Shimano 6 6 Chloe Hosking (Aus) Hitec Products 5 7 Emma Johansson (Swe) Orica - AIS 4 8 Olga Zabelinskaya (Rus) RusVelo 3 9 Jolien D'Hoore (Bel) Lotto Belisol Ladies 2 10 Melissa Hoskins (Aus) Orica - AIS 1

Young riders 1 Amy Pieters (Ned) Team Giant - Shimano 2:53:33 2 Melissa Hoskins (Aus) Orica - AIS 0:00:31 3 Elena Cecchini (Ita) Italy 0:00:37 4 Roxane Fournier (Fra) France 0:11:57 5 Dong Yan Huang (Chn) China Chongming-Giant Pro Cycling 6 Celine Van Severen (Bel) Lotto Belisol Ladies 7 Emilie Moberg (Nor) Hitec Products 8 Claudia Cretti (Ita) Italy 9 Michela Pavin (Ita) Ale Cipollini 10 Aude Biannic (Fra) France 11 Alice Algisi (Ita) Astana Bepink Womens Team 12 Béatrice Bartelloni (Ita) Wiggle Honda 13 Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ita) Italy 14 Thea Thorsen (Nor) Hitec Products 15 Thalita De Jong (Ned) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team 16 Chiara Vannucci (Ita) Italy 17 Zita Stricker (Ita) Astana Bepink Womens Team 18 Yuan Yuan Tian (Chn) China Chongming-Giant Pro Cycling 19 Jessica Mundy (Aus) Australia 20 Susanna Zorzi (Ita) Astana Bepink Womens Team 21 Maeia Covrig (Ita) Astana Bepink Womens Team 22 Emily Roper (Aus) Australia 23 Marion Rousse (Fra) Lotto Belisol Ladies 24 Arianna Fidanza (Ita) Italy 0:12:06

Teams 1 Team Giant - Shimano 8:42:05 2 Orica - AIS 0:00:09 3 RusVelo 0:09:57 4 Wiggle Honda 0:11:11 5 Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team 6 Hitec Products 0:11:35 7 Specialized - lululemon 0:11:56 8 Lotto Belisol Ladies 0:12:01 9 Boels Dolmans Cycling Team 0:23:05 10 Italy 11 China Chongming-Giant Pro Cycling 0:33:20 12 France 0:34:25 13 Australia 14 Ale Cipollini 15 Astana Bepink Womens Team

General classification after stage 2 1 Amy Pieters (Ned) Team Giant - Shimano 5:03:28 2 Kirsten Wild (Ned) Team Giant - Shimano 0:00:07 3 Chloe Hosking (Aus) Hitec Products 0:00:18 4 Emma Johansson (Swe) Orica - AIS 0:00:28 5 Jolien D'Hoore (Bel) Lotto Belisol Ladies 0:00:30 6 Melissa Hoskins (Aus) Orica - AIS 0:00:31 7 Iris Slappendel (Ned) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team 0:00:38 8 Valentina Scandolara (Ita) Orica - AIS 9 Christine Majerus (Lux) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team 10 Trixi Worrack (Ger) Specialized - lululemon 11 Tiffany Cromwell (Aus) Specialized - lululemon 0:00:49 12 Anna Van Der Breggen (Ned) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team 0:00:51 13 Charlotte Becker (Ger) Wiggle Honda 0:00:53 14 Inga Cilvinaite (Ltu) RusVelo 0:00:56 15 Olga Zabelinskaya (Rus) RusVelo 0:01:21 16 Lauren Kitchen (Aus) Hitec Products 0:01:31 17 Elena Cecchini (Ita) Italy 18 Giorgia Bronzini (Ita) Wiggle Honda 19 Liesbeth De Vocht (Bel) Lotto Belisol Ladies 0:01:53 20 Julia Soek (Ned) Team Giant - Shimano 21 Sara Mustonen (Swe) Team Giant - Shimano 0:02:22 22 Shelley Olds (USA) Ale Cipollini 0:11:50 23 Elizabeth Armitstead (GBr) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team 0:11:56 24 Pascale Jeuland (Fra) France 0:11:58 25 Annalisa Cucinotta (Ita) Italy 26 Barbara Guarischi (Ita) Ale Cipollini 27 Romy Kasper (Ger) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team 28 Susanna Zorzi (Ita) Astana Bepink Womens Team 29 Loes Gunnewijk (Ned) Orica - AIS 0:12:02 30 Chantal Blaak (Ned) Specialized - lululemon 31 Elise Delzenne (Fra) Specialized - lululemon 0:12:51 32 Sarah Roy (Aus) Australia 33 Katrin Garfoot (Aus) Australia 34 Katarzyna Pawlowska (Pol) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team 35 Jessie MacLean (Aus) Orica - AIS 36 Fiona Dutriaux (Fra) France 37 Aurore Verhoeven (Fra) France 38 Thalita De Jong (Ned) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team 39 Maaike Polspoel (Bel) Team Giant - Shimano 40 Rochelle Gilmore (Aus) Wiggle Honda 41 Marta Tagliaferro (Ita) Ale Cipollini 42 Marijn De Vries (Ned) Team Giant - Shimano 43 Gracie Elvin (Aus) Orica - AIS 44 Lucinda Brand (Ned) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team 45 Roxanne Knetemann (Ned) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team 46 Anastasia Chulkova (Rus) RusVelo 0:15:21 47 Aizan Zhaparova (Rus) RusVelo 0:15:23 48 Hong Yu Liang (Chn) China Chongming-Giant Pro Cycling 49 Elena Kuchinskaia (Rus) RusVelo 0:16:28 50 Dong Yan Huang (Chn) China Chongming-Giant Pro Cycling 51 Alexandra Burchenkova (Rus) RusVelo 52 Emilie Moberg (Nor) Hitec Products 53 Roxane Fournier (Fra) France 54 Michela Pavin (Ita) Ale Cipollini 55 Xiaoling Luo (Chn) China Chongming-Giant Pro Cycling 56 Audrey Cordon (Fra) Hitec Products 57 Wan Yiu Jamie Wong (HKg) China Chongming-Giant Pro Cycling 58 Peta Mullens (Aus) Wiggle Honda 59 Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ita) Italy 60 Alice Algisi (Ita) Astana Bepink Womens Team 61 Thea Thorsen (Nor) Hitec Products 62 Celine Van Severen (Bel) Lotto Belisol Ladies 63 Béatrice Bartelloni (Ita) Wiggle Honda 64 Fanny Riberot (Fra) France 65 Aude Biannic (Fra) France 66 Simona Frapporti (Ita) Astana Bepink Womens Team 67 Marieke Van Wanroij (Ned) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team 68 Emilia Fahlin (Swe) Wiggle Honda 69 Lisa Brennauer (Ger) Specialized - lululemon 70 Ni Man Song (Chn) China Chongming-Giant Pro Cycling 71 Marion Rousse (Fra) Lotto Belisol Ladies 72 Chloe McConville (Aus) Australia 73 Malgorzata Jasinska (Pol) Ale Cipollini 74 Louisa Lobigs (Aus) Australia 75 Zita Stricker (Ita) Astana Bepink Womens Team 76 Chiara Vannucci (Ita) Italy 77 Jessica Mundy (Aus) Australia 78 Emily Roper (Aus) Australia 79 Alena Amialiusik (Blr) Astana Bepink Womens Team 80 Maeia Covrig (Ita) Astana Bepink Womens Team 81 Claudia Cretti (Ita) Italy 0:17:41 82 Arianna Fidanza (Ita) Italy 0:17:50 83 Yuan Yuan Tian (Chn) China Chongming-Giant Pro Cycling 0:18:24 84 Tone Hatteland Lima (Nor) Hitec Products 0:18:32 85 Elena Berlato (Ita) Ale Cipollini 0:23:11

Points classification 1 Kirsten Wild (Ned) Team Giant - Shimano 32 pts 2 Chloe Hosking (Aus) Hitec Products 20 3 Amy Pieters (Ned) Team Giant - Shimano 15 4 Shelley Olds (USA) Ale Cipollini 14 5 Anna Van Der Breggen (Ned) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team 12 6 Jolien D'Hoore (Bel) Lotto Belisol Ladies 11 7 Charlotte Becker (Ger) Wiggle Honda 9 8 Elizabeth Armitstead (GBr) Boels Dolmans Cycling Team 8 9 Inga Cilvinaite (Ltu) RusVelo 7 10 Melissa Hoskins (Aus) Orica - AIS 5 11 Pascale Jeuland (Fra) France 5 12 Emma Johansson (Swe) Orica - AIS 4 13 Barbara Guarischi (Ita) Ale Cipollini 4 14 Olga Zabelinskaya (Rus) RusVelo 3 15 Iris Slappendel (Ned) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team 2 16 Trixi Worrack (Ger) Specialized - lululemon 1

Young rider classification 1 Amy Pieters (Ned) Team Giant - Shimano 5:03:28 2 Melissa Hoskins (Aus) Orica - AIS 0:00:31 3 Elena Cecchini (Ita) Italy 0:01:31 4 Susanna Zorzi (Ita) Astana Bepink Womens Team 0:11:58 5 Thalita De Jong (Ned) Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team 0:12:51 6 Dong Yan Huang (Chn) China Chongming-Giant Pro Cycling 0:16:28 7 Roxane Fournier (Fra) France 8 Emilie Moberg (Nor) Hitec Products 9 Michela Pavin (Ita) Ale Cipollini 10 Maria Giulia Confalonieri (Ita) Italy 11 Alice Algisi (Ita) Astana Bepink Womens Team 12 Thea Thorsen (Nor) Hitec Products 13 Béatrice Bartelloni (Ita) Wiggle Honda 14 Celine Van Severen (Bel) Lotto Belisol Ladies 15 Aude Biannic (Fra) France 16 Marion Rousse (Fra) Lotto Belisol Ladies 17 Zita Stricker (Ita) Astana Bepink Womens Team 18 Jessica Mundy (Aus) Australia 19 Chiara Vannucci (Ita) Italy 20 Emily Roper (Aus) Australia 21 Maeia Covrig (Ita) Astana Bepink Womens Team 22 Claudia Cretti (Ita) Italy 0:17:41 23 Arianna Fidanza (Ita) Italy 0:17:50 24 Yuan Yuan Tian (Chn) China Chongming-Giant Pro Cycling 0:18:24