Luke Rowe and Ian Stannard led Team Sky’s challenge at the Tour of Qatar as windy conditions and hard racing split the peloton apart on stage one.

The British pair came home safely ensconced in the lead group following a lively opening test which saw the event live up to its challenging reputation.

It was a reduced peloton that sprinted it out at Sealine Beach with Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) taking victory ahead of Tom Boonen (Etixx – Quick-Step) and Arnaud Demare (FDJ).

Rowe and Stannard moved up in the final kilometres to make sure they were awarded the same time as Rojas, and will now look to climb the general classification over the next five stages.

Bradley Wiggins was flanked by Chris Sutton as the pair finished among a fractured second wave of riders, 33 seconds back.

On a day where the peloton split into three groups at one point, crashes and nervous riders made life even more difficult. 

Sports Director Servais Knaven described the stage.

"The speed of the stage wasn't too fast for much of the day as there were only two short sections of cross-winds and the rest was into a headwind. But once we hit those sections it was full gas! Being in the right position was crucial. We had Ian and Luke in the first group and Brad, CJ and Andy (Fenn) in the second group. Those guys came very close to getting back to the lead group. They got within 10 seconds but the gap just went out at the end.

"The first day is always quite difficult and you need to get into the rhythm again. Luke and Ian did a really good job and were up there. Ian actually had two punctures but still finished in the front group."