Tour of Qatar 2015 preview: Sir Bradley Wiggins, Tom Boonen and Niki Terpstra among favourites for victory

Sir Bradley Wiggins will begin his final campaign with Team Sky at the flat but wind-battered Tour of Qatar (February 8-13).

The six-day race offers the peloton the chance to build fitness and form in the warm weather of the Gulf but it is far from an early-season stroll.

The race is an important build-up event for the spring classics and consequently attracts most of the best one-day racers in the world.

Wiggins returns to Qatar for the first time since 2011 as part of his preparations for Paris-Roubaix, which is his main goal for the year.

The flat course also appeals to sprinters, and both Marcel Kittel and Peter Sagan - making his Tinkoff-Saxo debut - have made the trip.

Here's how the race will pan out...

THE STAGES

Stage 1: Sunday, February 8 - Dukhan to Sealine Beach - 136km | Report 

Result

1 Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar, 3:49:50
2 Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step, same time
3 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ.fr, st
4 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo, st
5 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Argon 18, st
6 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek Factory Racing, st
7 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling, st
8 Andrea Guardini (Ita) Astana, st
9 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha, st
10 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, st 

General classification

1 Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar, 3:49:40
2 Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step, +4secs
3 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ.fr, +6
4 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx – Quick-Step, +8
5 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida, +9
6 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo, +10
7 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Argon 18, same time
8 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek Factory Racing, st
9 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling, st
10 Andrea Guardini (Ita) Astana, st 

Stage 2: Monday, February 9 - Al Wakra to Al Khor Corniche - 194.5km | Report 

Result

1 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha, 3:49:51
2 Andrea Guardini (Ita) Astana, same time
3 Greg van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing, st
4 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo, st
5 Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step, st
6 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling, st
7 Adam Blythe (Gbr) Orica-GreenEdge, st
8 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing, st
9 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek Factory Racing, st
10 Ian Stannard (Gbr) Team Sky, st

General classification

1 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha, 7:39:31
2 Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step, +1
3 Greg van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing, +3
4 Andrea Guardini (Ita) Astana, +4
5 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx – Quick-Step, +8
6 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing, +9
7 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo, +10
8 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling, st
9 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek Factory Racing, st
10 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo, st

Stage 3: Tuesday, February 10 - Losail to Losail - 10km individual time trial | Report

Result

1 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx – Quick-Step, 14:03
2 Fabian Cancellara (Sui) Trek Factory Racing, +8secs
3 Sir Bradley Wiggins (GB) Team Sky, +9
4 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo, same time
5 Ian Stannard (GB) Team Sky, +10
6 Matthias Brandle (Aut) IAM Cycling, +18
7 Guillaume van Keirsbulck (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step, +20
8 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) MTN-Qhubeka, +21
9 Greg van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing, +24
10 Reto Hollenstein (Sui) IAM Cycling, +25

General classification

1 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx – Quick-Step
2 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo, +11secs
3 Ian Stannard (GB) Team Sky, +12
4 Greg van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing, +19
5 Luke Rowe (GB) Team Sky, +33
6 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha, +36
7 Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step, +42
8 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling, +44
9 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana, +46
10 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo, +48
Selected other
78 Sir Bradley Wiggins (GB) Team Sky, +10:02

Stage 4: Wednesday, February 11 - Al Thakhira to Mesaieed - 165.5km | Report

Result

1 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha, 4:15:57
2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Giant-Alpecin, same time
3 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Giant-Alpecin, st
4 Adam Blythe (GB) Orica-GreenEdge, st
5 Nicola Ruffoni (Ita) Bardiani-CSF, st
6 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling, st
7 Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana, st
8 Andrea Guardini (Ita) Astana, st
9 Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar, st
10 Sacha Modolo (Ita) Lampre-Merida, st 

General classification

1 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx – Quick-Step, 12:09:44
2 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo, +6secs
3 Ian Stannard (GB) Team Sky, +12
4 Greg van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing, +19
5 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha, +21
 6 Luke Rowe (GB) Team Sky, +33
7 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo, +37
8 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling, +39
9 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana, +41  
10 Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step, +42

Stage 5: Thursday, February 12 - Al Zubara Fort to Madinat Al Shamal - 153km | Report 

Result

1 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha, 3:03:01
2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo, same time
3 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Giant-Alpecin, st
4 Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step, st
5 Adam Blythe (GB) Orica-GreenEdge, st
6 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling, st
7 Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar, st
8 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ.fr, st
9 Greg van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing, st
10 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, st 

General classification

1 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx – Quick-Step, 15:12:45
2 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo, +6secs
3 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha, +11
  4 Ian Stannard (GB) Team Sky, +12
5 Greg van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing, +19
6 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo, +31
7 Luke Rowe (GB) Team Sky, +33
8 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling, +39
9 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana, +41 
10 Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step, +42 

Stage 6: Friday, February 13 - Sealine Beach Resort to Doha Corniche - 124.5km | Report

Result

1 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Argon 18, 2:24:03
2 Andrea Guardini (Ita) Astana, same time
3 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, st
4 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo, st
5 Youcef Reguigui (Alg) MTN-Qhubeka, st
6 Adam Blythe (GB) Orica-GreenEdge, st
7 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Etixx – Quick-Step, st
8 Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step, st
9 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek Factory Racing, st
10 Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar, st 

General classification

1 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx – Quick-Step, 17:36:48
2 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo, +6secs
3 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha, +9
4 Ian Stannard (GB) Team Sky, +12
5 Greg van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing, +19
6 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo, +31
7 Luke Rowe (GB) Team Sky, +33
8 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling, +39
9 Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step, +39
10 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana, +41  

KEY STAGE

Stage three. While every day offers potential for time gaps, this is the stage where the race favourites definitely will be separated.

THE FAVOURITES

Tom Boonen (Etixx - Quick-Step)
The four-time winner has unmatched pedigree at the Tour of Qatar and, having finished second last year, he remains as competitive as ever. He can sprint and also launch solo attacks, so will start as one of the main favourites.

Niki Terpstra (Etixx - Quick-Step)
Last year's winner is one of the most powerful riders in the peloton and his time-trialling ability underlines his credentials in this race. He should be there or thereabouts.

Sir Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky)
The Team Sky rider will be among the favourites to win the time trial and if he can put decent amounts of time into his closest rivals, that could put him in a strong position overall.

Ian Stannard (Team Sky)
The second Englishman in contention, Stannard finished fourth last year and should be equally competitive this time around. A classics expert, he will thrive in the high winds.

Marcel Kittel (Giant-Alpecin)
With bonus seconds on offer and five stages carrying the potential to end in a sprint, Kittel could win the race on bonuses alone if he finds form and strings together some stage wins.

Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing)
The Swiss maestro doesn't have a good record in Qatar but has all the attributes to mount a challenge for overall victory.

BRIT WATCH

Adam Blythe (Orica-GreenEdge)
Andy Fenn (Team Sky)
Luke Rowe (Team Sky)
Ian Stannard (Team Sky)
Scott Thwaites (Bora-Argon 18)
Sir Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky)

THE JERSEYS

- Gold: General classification.
- Silver: Points classification.
- White: Best young rider.

TIME BONUSES

- 10, 6 and 4 bonus seconds will be awarded to the first three finishers on each stage.
- 3, 2 and 1 second will be awarded to the first three riders over the line at intermediate sprints.

PREVIOUS WINNERS

2014: Niki Terpstra (Ned)
2013: Mark Cavendish (GB)
2012: Tom Boonen (Bel)
2011: Mark Renshaw (Aus)
2010: Wouter Mol (Ned)
2009: Tom Boonen (Bel)
2008: Tom Boonen (Bel)
2007: Wilfried Cretskens (Bel)
2006: Tom Boonen (Bel)
2005: Lars Michaelsen (Den)

WHAT THEY SAY...

Sir Bradley Wiggins
"The target here is to try and race hard and have a good time trial, but it's hard to predict for the TT at this time of year because we're on road bikes. I just want to put myself in the best position possible to do the best ride and see what happens. If it lands you in half-decent GC spot, you just try and defend it. It's so up and down here and it only takes one day to miss an echelon if it's windy. I think it's that mindset with going forward for the classics. It's about commitment and as I said it's not just about getting the training miles in here. It's that whole classics mindset now and with no Tour further down the line it all starts here."
Source: www.cyclingnews.com

Peter Sagan
"I raced in Qatar four years ago and that was the start of a great season. I think it's the right race for my official start in the Tinkoff-Saxo jersey. I look forward to start racing there."
Source: www.cyclingnews.com

THE TEAMS

ASTANA
Country: Kazakhstan. Status: WorldTour
Team: Lieuwe Westra (Ned), Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz), Andrea Guardini (Ita), Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz), Andriy Grivko (Ukr), Laurens de Vreese (Bel), Borut Bozic (Slo), Lars Boom (Ned).

BARDIANI-CSF
Country: Italy. Status: Pro Continental
Team: Simone Sterbini (Ita), Luca Sterbini (Ita), Paolo Simion (Ita), Nicola Ruffoni (Ita), Stefano Pirazzi (Ita), Andrea Piechele (Ita), Nicola Boem (Ita), Enrico Battglin (Ita).

BMC RACING
Country: United States. Status: WorldTour
Team: Rick Zabel (Ger), Peter Velits (Svk), Greg van Avermaet (Bel), Ben Hermans (Bel), Philippe Gilbert (Bel), Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux), Alessandro De Marchi (Ita), Marcus Burghardt (Ger).

BORA-ARGON 18
Country: Germany. Status: Pro Continental
Team: Paul Voss (Ger), Scott Thwaites (GB), Michael Schwarzmann (Ger), Daniel Schorn (Aut), Ralf Matzka (Ger), Zakkari Dempster (Aus), Sam Bennett (Irl), Shane Archbold (NZ).

COFIDIS
Country: France. Status: Pro Continental
Team: Jonas Ahlstrand (Swe), Nacer Bouhanni (Fra), Steve Chainel (Fra), Cyril Lemoine (Fra), Adrien Petit (Fra), Dominique Rollin (Can), Florian Senechal (Fra), Geoffrey Soupe (Fra).

ETIXX - QUICK-STEP
Country: Belgium. Status: WorldTour
Team: Martin Velits (Svk), Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel), Guillaume van Keirsbulck (Bel), Matteo Trentin (Ita), Niki Terpstra (Ned), Nikolas Maes (Bel), Iljo Keisse (Bel), Tom Boonen (Bel).

FDJ.FR
Country: France. Status: WorldTour
Team: Yoann Offredo (Fra), Johan le Bon (Fra), Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra), Murilo Fischer (Bra), Arnaud Demare (Fra), Mikael Delage (Fra), David Boucher (Bel), William Bonnet (Fra).

GIANT-ALPECIN
Country: Germany. Status: WorldTour
Team: Tom Veelers (Ned), Albert Timmer (Ned), Tom Stamsnijder (Ned), Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned), Georg Preidler (Aut), Marcel Kittel (Ger), Bert de Backer (Bel), Nikias Arndt (Ger).

IAM CYCLING
Country: Switzerland. Status: WorldTour
Team: Jonas van Genechten (Bel), Vicente Reynes (Esp), Roger Kluge (Ger), Reto Hollenstein (Sui), Heinrich Haussler (Aus), Dries Devenyns (Bel), Matthias Brandle (Aut), Marcel Aregger (Sui).

KATUSHA
Country: Russia. Status: WorldTour
Team: Gatis Smukulis (Lat), Luca Paolini (Ita), Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus), Alexander Kristoff (Nor), Dmitriy Kozontchuk (Rus), Marco Haller (Aut), Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita), Sven Eril Bystrom (Nor).

LAMPRE-MERIDA
Country: Italy. Status: WorldTour
Team: Nelson Oliveira (Por), Filippo Pozzato (Ita), Ruben Plaza (Esp), Manuele Mori (Ita), Sacha Modolo (Ita), Roberto Ferrari (Ita), Mario Costa (Por), Matteo Bono (Ita).

MOVISTAR
Country: Spain. Status: WorldTour
Team: Alejandro Valverde (Esp), Pablo Lastras (Esp), Andrey Amador (Cos), Jasha Sutterlin (Ger), Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp), Enrique Sanz (Esp), Imanol Erviti (Esp), Fran Ventoso (Esp).

MTN-QHUBEKA
Country: South Africa. Status: Pro Continental
Team: Jaco Venter (RSA), Johann van Zyl (RSA), Kristian Sbaragli (Ita), Youcef Reguigui (Alg), Gerald Ciolek (Ger), Theo Bos (Ned), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor).

ORICA-GREENEDGE
Country: Australia. Status: WorldTour
Team: Svein Tuft (Can), Jens Mouris (Ned), Brett Lancaster (Aus), Jens Keukeleire (Bel), Leigh Howard (Aus), Mathew Hayman (Aus), Mitchell Docker (Aus), Adam Blythe (GB).

TEAM SKY
Country: Great Britain. Status: WorldTour
Team: Sir Bradley Wiggins (GB), Chris Sutton (Aus), Ian Stannard (GB), Luke Rowe (GB), Danny Pate (USA), Christian Knees (Ger), Andy Fenn (GB), Bernhard Eisel (Aut).

TINKOFF-SAXO
Country: Russia. Status: WorldTour
Team: Nikolay Trusov (Rus), Peter Sagan (Svk), Michael Morkov (Den), Chris Juul-Jensen (Den), Pavel Brutt (Rus), Matti Breschel (Den), Maciej Bodnar (Pol), Jesper Hansen (Den).

TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN-BALOISE
Country: Belgium. Status: Pro Continental
Team: Jelle Wallays (Bel), Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel), Jef van Meirhaeghe (Bel), Gijs van Hoecke (Bel), Preben van Hecke (Bel), Jarl Salomein (Bel), Tom Declerq (Bel), Victor Campenaerts (Bel).

TREK FACTORY RACING
Country: United States. Status: WorldTour
Team: Danny van Poppel (Ned), Boy van Poppel (Ned), Jasper Stuyven (Bel), Gert Steegmans (Bel), Gregory Rast (Sui), Yaroslab Popovych (Ukr), Markel Irizar (Esp), Fabian Cancellara (Sui).