Specialized-lululemon women launch season in Qatar
Specialized-Lululemon | January 30, 2012
The Specialized lululemon women will begin the 2012 season at the UCI 2.1 ranked Women's Tour of Qatar on Wednesday the 1st of February and director Jens Zemke wants to make an impression, "We want to show that we are ready for a great season with many highlights, like Olympics the World Cups and the new world-championship in team-time-trial."
The three day race which is run around the city of Dubai has been dominated by sprint finishes over the past three years but erratic winds and the right tactics have proven to be crucial to the overall success as Ellen Van Dijk showed in 2011.
After winning the overall classification and the young rider jersey in 2011 Ellen joins her five other team mates in Katie Colclough, Trixi Worrack, Charlotte Becker, Lisa Brennauer and Chloe Hosking in 2012 and has hopes of repeating her success, "The race unfolded perfectly for the team last year and it was great to start the season on such a high, but I won't be disappointed if I don't win it all again. Just one jersey would be enough," Ellen joked.
This sense of humor which has carried the team through two training camps in the off season should be a key element to the team's success in Qatar, and for the 2012 season. After all, it was after the entire team did a core workout laughing at Ellen 'rodeo riding' a camel at the start of the second stage in 2011 that they then went and spilt the field in the crosswinds, cementing the overall, young rider and teams classification.