German cycling star Judith Arndt has secured the first overseas win in road racing for new Australian team GreenEDGE.
Arndt took out the three-day women’s Tour of Qatar, riding a smart race on the final day to protect her overall lead.
The reigning world time trial champion, who is the No.1 rider at GreenEDGE, finished fourth in stage three and gained time bonuses on the two intermediate sprints.
Those time bonuses meant she extended her general classification lead over compatriot Trixi Worrack (Specialized-lululemon) from two to six seconds.
Dutch rider Kirsten Wild won the 92.5km last stage at the Katara Cultural Village, with the riders battling strong head and cross winds for much of the course.
“The girls were down to their slowest speed the whole race at the start,” said GreenEDGE director Rod McGee.
“They were going under 20km/h.
“Eventually, it changed to crosswinds, and when the field split all our girls made the front group.”
Arndt then finished third on the first intermediate sprint and won the next to consolidate her overall lead.
Worrack did not feature in either sprint and finished the stage ninth.
While GreenEDGE dominated last month’s racing in Australia, McGee noted the competition had been much tougher in Qatar.
“With the team just starting out, this kind of success is terrific,” he said.
“They rode really well over the three days (and) showed us they were in great condition and really motivated with their wins in January.
“This win is definitely at a higher level with a bigger field and stronger teams.”
The GreenEDGE men’s team make their overseas road debut from Sunday at the six-day Tour of Qatar.