Riders Peter Sagan (left) and Tom Boonen (second from left) at the sponsorship signing function between ExxonMobil and Qatar Cycling Federation. The first stage of the Tour of Qatar begins today.
By Yash Mudgal/Doha
Sir Bradley Wiggins leads the star-studded start list of Tour of Qatar 2015 in which classics hardmen will line up against grand tour riders.
Wiggins will start his final season with Team Sky at the tour, which will commence today and features world champions, sprint specialists and kings of the classics.
Wiggins will race with Sky’s eight-man team and rivals such as Tom Boonen of Etixx–Quick-Step, Marcel Kittel of Giant-Alpecin, Peter Sagan of Tinkoff-Saxo, Philippe Gilbert of BMC Racing, Fabian Cancellara of Trek Factory Racing and Alejandro Valverde of Movistar.
Wiggins will have a chance to debut his world champion’s rainbow jersey on stage three, a 10.9-kilometre time trial in Lusail. The 2012 Tour de France winner is using the race as he builds towards Paris-Roubaix and the Hour Record later this year.
Boonen, Sagan and Cancellara will also be tuning their form towards the cobbled classics, while 2012 road world champion Philippe Gilbert will be looking ahead to the one-day races in the Ardennes.
The Tour of Qatar is a favorite testing ground for the classics specialists to hone their form going into the major races. A quick glance of the past winners of the tour makes it clear how this race has been something of a procession for the sprinters.
Tom Boonen holds the record number of overall wins with four, but the tour, entering its 11th year, gained a new dimension last year with the introduction of an individual time trial. Consequently, this edition has attracted a number of specialists against the clock.
The main among them is Wiggins and this will be the first race the Team Sky rider has ridden in since winning the time trial World Championship last year, and he’ll get to adorn the rainbow jersey for the first in stage three—a flat 10-kilometre time trial at Lusail.
Victory in this stage looks a very real possibility for Wiggins, and ought to put him in contention for the overall win too.
Boonen also believes Wiggins will be the biggest threat to his team’s chances of victory in the six-day race that begins in Dukhan today.
Boonen last won the race in 2012, but Etixx has won the two editions since, with Mark Cavendish and Niki Terpstra.
“Wiggins is our main contender for the win because of the time trial, so we will try and get gap on him in other stages,” the four-time Paris-Roubaix champion Boonen said on the eve of the start of tour yesterday.
“Every time we come here it is to pursue the overall victory. We will try to do well from the first day, as starting well in this race is most important thing.”
Aside from the time trial, the main factor which is likely to shape the group classification will be the vicious crosswinds. Wind often plays a prominent role in this open race.
Last year, Terpstra laid the foundation for his overall victory on the opening day’s racing by taking advantage of a crosswind-depleted peloton to escape and win the stage.
Talking about today’s first stage, which finishes at the windy Sealine Beach, Boonen said: “It’s almost a one of a kind race. Nowhere in the world do you get grueling circumstances like the wind. If you’re a powerful rider, you can take advantage of that. Maybe we will get a gap on our rivals tomorrow.”
The 2015 race will begin in Dukhan, near where Terpstra took his win in 2014, and head 136 kilometres southwest to Sealine Beach.
The 194.5km stage 2 from Al Wakra to Al Khor Corniche is the longest of the six that make up the Tour of Qatar. As it was in last year’s race, the only non-sprinter stage will be a short 10.9km time trial around the planned city of Lusail. It is the third time that the city has hosted the key time trial, which is likely to be definitive in the general classification.
The peloton will head back north for the start of stage 4 from Al Thakhira to Mesaieed, which has featured five times previously as a stage finish. Stage 5 will take the riders from Al Zubara Fort to Madinat ash-Shamal.
After hosting the first sprint, the Sealine Beach Resort will feature the start of the final day’s racing before the riders make their way to the traditional finish in Doha.
Peter Sagan will make his official debut with the Tinkoff-Saxo squad today. The Slovakian sprinter will be backed by an eight-man team as he pursues his first wins of the 2015 season.
“I raced in Qatar four years ago and that was the start of a great season,” Sagan said. “I think it’s the right race for my official start in the Tinkoff-Saxo jersey,” he said.
THE TEAMS
Astana, Bardiani CSF, BMC, Bora-Argon 18, Cofidis, Etixx-Quick Step, FDJ, Giant-Alpecin, IAM Cycling, Katusha, Lampre-Merida,
Movistar, MTN-Qhubeka, Orica GreenEdge, Team Sky, Tinkoff-Saxo, Topsport Vlaanderen Baloise, Trek Factory Racing.
THE STAGES
Stage 1: Sunday, February 8, Dukhan–Sealine Beach (136 km)
Stage 2: Monday, February 9, Al Wakra–Al Khor Corniche (194.5 km)
Stage 3: Tuesday, February 10, Lusail Circuit, individual time trial (10.9 km)
Stage 4: Wednesday, February 11, Al Thakhira-Mesaieed (165.5 km)
Stage 5: Thursday, February 12, Al Zubara Fort–Madinat ash-Shamal (153 km)
Stage 6: Friday, February 13, Sealine Beach Resort–Doha Corniche (124.5 km)
