Dutchman Niki Terpstra has successfully completed the perfect preparatory work of his team Omega Pharma-QuickStep on the first stage from Al Wakra to Dukhan Beach. On the 135-kilometer opening section, he not only secured a few bonus seconds, but also confidently won the day.
Terpstra prevailed in the sprint from a five-man lead group that was 25 seconds ahead of the field with almost 25 kilometers to go. The group was able to keep this largely constant up to the last kilometer. Then the tactics began. At first, Terpstra's team-mate Guillaume van Keirsbulck dropped back a little, only to force the group into action with a surprise start. The Belgian did the same. Because after Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Belisol) and Michael Schär (BMC) drove up to him, Martin Elmiger (IAM) attacked. However, the Swiss was caught just under 200 meters from the finish by Tersptra, who used his background on the track and was even able to gain time from his competitors.
Behind Terpstra, Roelandts and Schär took second and third place. Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) eventually leads the field, seven seconds down. The best German was Marcel Sieberg (Lotto Belisol) in tenth place.
Terpstra thus also took the lead in the overall standings.
Result
1. Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) 3:13:42
2. Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Belisol) 0:00:01
3. Michael Schar (BMC)) 0:00:01
4. Martin Elmiger (IAM) 0:00:01
5. Guillaume van Keirsbulck (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) 0:00:07
Total
1. Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) 3:13:42
2. Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Belisol) 0:00:01
3. Michael Schar (BMC)) 0:00:01
4. Martin Elmiger (IAM) 0:00:01
5. Guillaume van Keirsbulck (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) 0:00:07