310115ispa-0716.JPG
Despite a very late arrival from Dubai, Philippe Gilbert is all smiles at the team presentation...
bmc
Not so happy is BMC's Alessandro De Marchi - he's crashed in the very first kilometre..!
The peloton pedals out into the desert, facing a stiff headwind most of the way...
scenery
Luca Sterbini leads Jarl Salomein in an early move...
bardiani
Matti Breschel and Stijn Vandenbergh have gone after the two leaders but soon think better of their plans...
No Smoking - the peloton passes a gas refinery about 40-kilometres into the stage...
sceneryqatar
Ian Stannard needs a wheel change just as the racing seems set to start...
skymechanic
Salomein and Sterbini have seen their 10-minute lead shrink dramatically as the peloton speeds up...
topsport
Bradley Wiggins looks fit, and probably is fit, but he's right at the back of the peloton...
sky
Filippo Pozzato has put on a one-piece suit for the day, but he's forgotten to fix a race-number on...
lampre
Peter Sagan looks slimmer than before, or is it the distraction of his colourful kit..?
tinkoff
Fabian Cancellara looks lean and fit too - this bike adjustment won't slow him too much...
trekmechanic
Luke Rowe studies the race-route as the halfway mark approaches...
At last - Tom Boonen accelerates to stir things up...
etixx
Peter Sagan matches Boonen, as does Murilo Fischer...
Defending champion Niki Terpstra has missed out on the move, but he's powering across...
Winds have split the race for a while, but this third line of cyclists will join the second then the first and slow the race down again...
echelonshadows
Tom Boonen and Peter Sagan have collided - both men are un-hurt but Sagan looks a bit embarassed...
mechanic
Sagan is left alone to sort his bike out....
Adam Blythe was also caught up in the spill - he needs a new back wheel...
ogemechanic
Boonen sprints back to the peloton, but whatever racing there was has now desisted...
Chris Juul-Jensen leads a move with Greg Van Avermaet - this too gets caught...
Is Nacer Bouhanni going to take his first win for Cofidis today..?
cofidis
The Bora-Argon 18 team has suddenly attacked into the wind with 15-kilometres left...
boraqatar
Cancellara reacts with Jasper Stuyven, but even he cannot make it work...
trekwind
The sprint shows about 10 riders in with a chance across the width of the road...
Jose-Joaquin Rojas wins stage one from Tom Boonen and Arnaud Demare..!
Jose-Joaquin Rojas becomes the first leader of the Tour of Qatar...
movistar' qatar