Team Amsterdam’s van de Vall, Bos steal prologue honours

By Yash Mudgal/Doha

Van De Vall clocked 3:58.13 seconds to claim the yellow leader’s jersey into stage one as he narrowly beat Kazma rider from New Zealand, Roman van Uden, who clocked 3:58.03.

“I didn’t expect to finish as the winner today. My teammate came third and what really impressed me were his timings. I am really glad with today’s result as we two finished at the podium,” van De Vall said.

“I am surprised by my show today as I am not very good at short races. But it was good win for me and hopefully I will improve during the Tour,” he added.

Commenting over the next stages of the Tour, he said: “It is a really different race. It will be hot and there are several good riders, it will be tough. And it will be difficult to keep the winner's jersey.

“I think Arabic riders are very good as they are used to the conditions out here. Roman are also looking good as he finished second today and he has also performed well in the recently concluded Tour of Sharjah. I hope some good races in the coming days,” he added.

Qatar Team rider Ahmed Elbourdainy injured himself as his bike skidded at the last leg of the race and crashed out.

Elbourdainy, who won a stage at the Tour of Shrajah recently, fell heavily on his right leg just before the finish line.

“It was a setback no doubt but not disastrous… I don’t think,” he said.

Elbourdainy tried his best to reduce the gap  after the fall but managed to cross the finish line in 55th place, 25 seconds behind the winner.

“It was a normal crash as my bike skidded at the last bend of the race. I was hoping for a podium finish today, but unfortunately I lost one minute, which is a lot, due to the crash and it dashed my hopes.

“I have received some bruises on my right thigh and right elbow, but I will compete tomorrow and try to finish on the podium in the coming days,” Elbourdainy said after receiving the treatment to his injuries.

The course managed to pose a challenge despite its 3-km length. Van De Vall and Bos best managed the conditions to relegate the likes of Yousif Mirz of UAE (fourth) and Klemen Stimulak of Adria Mobil Team (fifth) to the minor placings.

Auckland cyclist Uden, riding for the Kazma Team, who had won the opening stage in tough conditions in Sharjah by managing to hold his lead through the remaining three stages to clinch the title, finished second.

“I am happy with the results today… It’s a good start of the Tour for me. The coming days will be tough as from tomorrow the long races will start.

“I think it will be tough in the windy conditions out there as most of the riders are in good shape and are performing well. Some of the GCC riders are also looking good. Let’s see how we cope with the conditions as it requires a good team work,” Roman van Uden said after the race.

Qatar Team finished the day at 12th spot in the team placings. The 19152 Euro prize money tour is dedicated to Al Zubarah, which has been promoted to UNESCO world heritage list in June 2013. The next stage of the Tour is the 123.8-km ride from Barzan Towers to Al Zubarah today.