BMC confirmed their grip on Brent Bookwalter’s leader’s jersey on the third stage of the Tour of Qatar. The team still dominate the General Classification and seem to be on their way to bag a fantastic result in the desert race.

With 5 riders in the top ten on General Classification, a fantastic position originating from yesterday’s triumph in the team time trial, the BMC team kept an early breakaway on a short leash to make sure that the peloton remained together and to defend Bookwalter’s overall lead.
 

Cavendish poses serious threat

It all ended in a bunch sprint which was won by British super sprinter Mark Cavendish. This leaves Cavendish just 8 seconds adrift on general classification and thus he poses a clear and present danger to the aspirations of BMC.

Assistant Director, Jackson Stewart, admits the dangers inherent in a series of bunch sprints:

"We have a lot of cards to play," Stewart said, "but if we keep waiting for the sprints, we give away 10 seconds every time we don't win."

Overall leader, Brent Boookwalter, remains confident ahead of the coming stages:

”We're still in a good place with five guys in the top 10 and two of them – Taylor and Adam – who are really good in the sprints."