Brent Bookwalter wins first stage in Tour of Qatar.
In a breathtaking sprint finish BMC rider Brent Bookwalter saw off the challenges of fellow breakaway riders Martin Elmiger of IAM Cycling and Gregory Rast of RadioShack Leopard to take the first stage and lead the overall standings in Tour of Qatar.
With just a handful of kilometres remaining of the 145.2 km stage from Katara Cultural Village to Dukhan Beach the trio broke away and maintained their tender lead despite the combined efforts of the chasing pack. For 28-year-old Bookwalter this is his first win since taking the prologue at the 2009 Tour of Utah.
And it was a happy albeit surprised winner who said that "I was able to tuck in just for a second and get around them. I had been telling myself (in the final kilometers) that I was going to win, but it was a shock to see my wheel go over that line first. It was a feeling I haven't had in a really long time so it was really special and exciting."
Cross-winds wreaked havoc in the peloton on several occasions, forming numerous echelons in the bunch. On one such occasion Mark Cavendish of Omega Pharma QuickStep was caught off guard and despite making contact with other groups of riders thanks to the efforts of his teammates, Cavendish and the rest of the team were unable to reel in the breakaway.
As they entered the outskirts of Bukhan Beach Bookwalter, Rast and Elmiger still enjoyed a healthy and unassailable lead.
Even though both Sky and GreenEdge did their utmost to catch up with the front trio, it came to a showdown between the three men in front. Elmiger opened the sprint only to see Bookwalter come through in the final few meters to claim the stage and, evidently, the leader's jersey.
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