Ian Stannard and Luke Rowe continued their strong showing at the Tour of Qatar as the pair finished in a select lead group following a wild second stage.

Stannard picked up 10th, while Rowe placed 13th into Al Khor Corniche as just 15 riders contested a severely reduced bunch sprint on a day which saw the peloton blasted by sand storms and echelon-inducing cross-winds.

Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) led from the front to take out the sprint and move into a slender one-second race lead following a chaotic day in the desert. Andrea Guardini (Astana) and Greg van Avermaet (BMC Racing) rounded out the podium placings as the general classification received a shake-up.

Rowe and Stannard are now well-placed heading into Tuesday’s time trial, just 10 seconds back on the new gold jersey-holder Kristoff.

Bradley Wiggins was among a number of big names to lose time in the cross-winds but will also be targeting a strong showing as he debuts his world champion’s rainbow jersey in the 10.9km test.

“I think ‘smashfest’ pretty much sums up today’s stage," Rowe explained to TeamSky.com after the dust (and sand) had settled.

“As soon as the flag dropped it split into five or six groups and that was it for the first 80km. Then it all came back together. I was in the front when it split the first time and then once it was back together it split again quite soon after. And that was the race pretty much done.

“It kept splitting again and again and narrowing down. It whittled down to 15 guys left at the finish with me and Stannard. It was a big day out for us!

“They couldn’t actually televise the race because of the sand storms. There was actually sand residue building up on the road in the cross-wind sections. Every now and then you’d be going 65-70km/h and you’d hit a layer of sand and be going sideways. The visibility was terrible too so it was quite epic.

“There was a 7km neutral section and we all knew that as soon as the race started it would split. It was the most nervous neutral section I’ve ever done! But it’s just one of those things. You’ve got to be in the right place at the right time and have the legs to back it up. Luckily me and Ian did. We spoke and neither of us had much left coming into the finish to contest the sprint. But on the positive side of it we’ve got good positions to go for this time trial tomorrow. I think Stannard can definitely get up there and be not far off the win. For myself hopefully I can be in a top-10 position this time tomorrow night. That’s the goal and I think it’s realistic.

“Halfway through last season, I really knuckled down. The build-up to the Vuelta, the race itself and the Worlds went well, so I ended the season on a high," Rowe told CyclingWeekly. “I think a big part of it is confidence. Until you do it, you don’t believe you can do it. I had a real good winter, I spent a lot of time away from home getting the miles in. I did team camps as well as trips off my own back. I feel well prepared for this year.

“People underestimate how hard Qatar is, it’s one of the hardest races of the year. You have to be mentally strong to come here and race hard day in, day out.”

“I didn’t’ have the best of starts today, to be honest. I was in one of the back groups but I managed to come back with one of the echelons and from there I managed to survive,” he told Cyclingnews.

“I cracked a bit at the start when it was full gas and I didn’t enjoy that one bit. Then you’re just slipping back through the groups and before you know it you’re out the back. I saw Etixx go and when I got back they were hammering it again.

“I’m not entirely comfortable in the bunch yet after my crashes last year but I’m sure that after this race I’ll be alright. It’s been tough. I missed a whole year’s racing nearly and it’s been hard but I’m back to where I was, I think, and I’ll go from there."