Michael Hepburn (Orica-GreenEDGE) came of age when he beat Lars Boom (Belkin) and Daniele Bennati (Tinkoff-Saxo) to take the biggest win of his road career in yesterday's time trial in Qatar. We have already posted several reactions and have gathered a few more below.

Philippe Gilbert (BMC, 8th +0.15)

"The wind was pretty strong, with a lot of changing of direction. When you hit the headwind, you had to give everything because you knew you can have an easier time on the opposite way. I was never over my limit. Then, when I heard (Sport Director) Valerio Piva say that I was doing a great time in the last two kilometers, that gave me extra energy. I was trying to go faster and faster at the end, but the last 700 or 800 meters were hard. I finished empty like everyone."

Valerio Piva (sports director BMC whose best rider was Philippe Gilbert in 8th)

"It was a special time trial with a  lot of wind. Philippe made a good choice to put the 55 front chainring on. He was very powerful, considering he's not really a specialist. He is a good time trials, but compared to (past multi-world time trial champion) Fabian Cancellara, he did a fantastic time trial. Greg Van Avermaet was also good, and the young Silvan Dillier was too. I expect again tomorrow that there will be a lot of wind and a lot of attacks. I want to have the team perform tomorrow like the first day. So it was not necessary for the non-time trial specialists on our team to go fast."

Martial Gayant (sports director FDJ whose best rider was Arnaud Demare in 21st)

"This morning at breakfast, Johan (Le Bon) could not bend his arm to drink his coffee. It would not be safe to let him continue. Nothing is broken but is it much better that he recovers and returns to full form in the Tour du Haut Var. He returned to France on Wednesday with David Boucher who is going better, and Matthieu Ladagnous who will need three weeks to recover from his acromioclavicular dislocation. '' Lada'' may therefore not miss Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne but he should be fine for the next classics."

Servais Knaven (sports director Sky whose best rider was Ian Stannard in 11th)

“It was a strong ride from Ian today and we’re happy with that. It’s put him right up there on GC.

“There was maybe a bit more wind at the finish but there wasn’t enough to really have any effect. All the GC guys were there and thereabouts at the end so they all had the same conditions.

"The race can come apart really quickly. For sure we’ll get one or two days with a lot of wind and of course we’d like to stay in the position we are in. We’d also like to move up a few places should the chance arise. Ian has the legs and the team is riding well. Of course it will be difficult to get rid of some of the guys around him – there are riders like Boonen, Boom and Roelandts who can all sprint well.

“It’s going to be hard but we know anything can happen.”

Dmitriy Fofonov (sports director Astana whose best rider was Lieuwe Westra in 31st)

“We had better luck today – how could we have had worse luck than yesterday? (Westra, Guardini, Guarnieri, Bozic and Iglinskiy all crashed while Guarnieri punctured out of the lead group with 4km to go, ed.). (Evan) Huffman rode a good time trial today, so did Valentin (Iglinskiy) – he is showing real progress and should be fully ready by the time we go to Malaysia. (Lieuwe) Westra rode strongly, he has a good gallop – it will be very interesting to watch him get stronger this year.”

Gatis Smukulis (Katusha, 23rd +0.29)

"Indeed, when we came for the stage the wind did not blow too strong, but when I started I felt the headwind in the second part of the distance had increased greatly. I felt a little bit tired after yesterday efforts, but anyway, I think it was a good race for me and good test of my conditions early in the season. I still have to find my peloton feeling, but I am sure I will be ready soon."

Kristof Goddaert (IAM, 27th +0.36)

“I prepared well for my season.  And the sensations in my legs have been good since the beginning of this tour.  Sunday we were unlucky with Heinrich Haussler falling in a roundabout with less than 4 kilometers to the finish. We had been preparing for the sprint in the chase group behind Martin Elmiger.

"I screwed up my race Monday, but today I did a decent time trial.  The conditions are always a bit special here, considering we are using normal road bikes.  Finding the best aerodynamic position is not always obvious.  The handlebars and saddle are different too.  I used a 54×13/14, but the wind was ever-present.

"You had to be really very powerful to use the gear ratio that would make the difference against the wind in those final kilometers.

“We have no reason to envy Omega Pharma-Quickstep or Lotto-Belisol.  With guys like Ista, Haussler, Hinault, Elmiger and myself, we can certainly set up a winning train for Pelucchi.  And I have already seen this week that he is able to beat a Boonen or a Greipel.

“IAM Cycling has a guy who can win any stage in Qatar.  There will certainly be echelons and breaks in the peloton on Wednesday, but on Thursday and Friday we can probably count on the days ending in massive sprints.”

Alex Sans Vega (sports director NetApp-Endura whose best rider was Blaz Jarc in 35th)

“Our focus is on the approaching sprint stages. None of our guys here is a time trial specialist, so we set out today without any great expectations. Everyone rode to the best of his ability, but in our minds we are already thinking about tomorrow.

“Although we expect a bit less wind, we need to ride very carefully. A tailwind will make the stage very fast over much of the course.This makes it dangerous and demands the utmost concentration. If our projections are correct, there will be a mass sprint in which we will look for our opportunities."