The first stage of this year’s Tour of Qatar is now history. Nike Terpstra won the stage ahead of Jurgen Roelandts and Michael Schär. The white jersey of the race has also found its new owner and that will be Sam Bennett of Team Net-App Endura.

The five-man breakaway denied the sprinters, but after them the peloton powered against each other in a tough sprint. Irishman Sam Bennett managed to finish on the 14th place on the stage and this made him the proud owner of the white jersey. During the stage he sprinted into a third place in the first intermediate sprint.

"I was very nervous before the start because it's the first race in a new team. But now I am very happy how everything turned out. I really like to thank my teammates who rode incredibly strong and who supported me so well on today's stage", states Sam Bennett right after the finish.

Sports Director Alex Sans Vega says he is happy with how the plan succeeded and the entire team supported Bennett in the first sprint.

"I am delighted that our plan worked out right on the first day. The entire team supported Sam in the first sprint classification after 20 kilometers to secure the bonus seconds for us," says a delighted Alex Sans Vega.

The third place in the intermediate sprint gives Bennett a 6th place in the GC. The team will definitely try to defend the place and the jersey.

"After the strong wind divided the field into five groups, we were in the second group with four riders. Zak and Scott were able to close the gap up front. That was indeed tough work for around 50 kilometers, but it put Sam in the right position. The time in hand put him in the top 10 and gave him the jersey for the best young pro. That was a masterful debut, and we will naturally try to defend it," continues Sans Vega.