The transfer to the start took the race through Doha's spectacular city skyscrapers...

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Happy birthday - Tony Gallopin gives his best wishes to Markel Irizar before the start...

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An escape is trying to get away but a tailwind is making this impossible...

There's been a pile-up at the back of the peloton - Taylor Phinney (centre) is one of those involved...

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No happy birthday this - Irizar is also in the crash, his bike is tangled up with others...

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Karsten Kroon will abandon the race with a knee injury...

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Phinney gets going after fixing his own bike problems - looks like he needs some new clothes too..!

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Matthew Hayman and Pirmin Lang have got a real escape going, and they've gained over two minutes so far..!

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The peloton is led by BMC as it stretches across a desert landscape...

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Geraint Thomas makes a wheel-change after a flat tyre...

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Wind has split the peloton as it turns back towards Al Wakra...

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Chan Jae Jang is in the escape, and they've been given a reprieve with the peloton easing its chase...

Fabian Cancellara is looking fresh in his first race of the year...

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Heinrich Haussler looks cool too...

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More wind, more speed up-front - and more dropped cyclists at the back...

Stijn Devolder is struggling to keep contact with the peloton...

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BMC now has help from the sprinters' teams like FDJ, Omega and Green Edge...

Dmitri Gusdev has escaped from the escape, but he'll soon be pulled back...

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Iljo Keisse is the man working for Omega in the last 15-kilometres...

Allan Davis is doing the tempo turns for Green Edge...

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It's a full-on sprint into Masaieed..!

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Mark Cavendish wins stage three from Barry Markus and Aidis Kruopis and moves to within eight seconds of the race-lead...

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