Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung will feature in the Tour of Qatar for the first time, this year. The desert race has become a mainstay fixture on the international cycling calendar and is an important event for all riders hoping to have a successful classics campaign.

The UCI 2.HC event takes place from the 8-13 February and consists of 5 pan flat road stages and a 10.9km TT on stage 3. While there is almost zero meters gained or lost in altitude, soaring heat and extreme wind characterise this race. With such racing conditions, it is no wonder that classics specialists and sprinters are the riders who populate the results sheet.

Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung will send a strong 7 man squad to Qatar who will be able to challenge for the top positions each day. Theo Bos, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Gerald Ciolek, Youcef Reguigui, Kristian Sbaragli, Johann van Zyl and Jaco Venter make up the Qatar roster. Andreas Stuaff was scheduled to participate but after fracturing his collarbone during the Challenge Mallorca, he will not be able to start.

"I'm looking forward to return to Qatar. The race and its windy conditions suit me and I have done well there in the past," Bos said. "We will be there with a strong team and are surely a force to be reckoned with."

"My focus is already on the spring classics, so the Tour of Qatar will be important for me in terms of getting to know where I am at the moment," Ciolek said. "The field there is normally very strong, but we will not hide ourselves in the bunch. I look forward to really get rolling."

"We're looking forward to starting the Tour of Qatar, a race for which we are very hopeful," sports director Jens Zemke said. "We will have a strong team of sprinters at the start line with the likes of Theo, Edvald, Kristian and Gerald and are eager to play an important role once the race starts."