2012 Tour of Qatar explained

2012 Tour of Qatar
Date:	5–10 February 2012
Stages:	6
Distance:	727.3
Unit:	km
Time:	15h 42' 14"
Speed:	46.316
First:	Tom Boonen
First Nat:	Belgium
First Color:	gold
Second:	Tyler Farrar
Second Nat:	United States
Third:	Juan Antonio Flecha
Third Nat:	Spain
Points:	Tom Boonen
Points Nat:	Belgium
Youth:	Ramūnas Navardauskas
Youth Nat:	Lithuania
Youth Color:	white
Previous:	2011
Next:	2013

The 2012 Tour of Qatar was the eleventh edition of the Tour of Qatar cycling stage race. It was rated as a 2.HC event on the UCI Asia Tour, and was held between 5 and 10 February 2012, in Qatar.

The race was won for the fourth time by Belgium's Tom Boonen,^[1] of the team, leading the race from start to finish and taking two stage victories along the way. Boonen's winning margin over runner-up Tyler Farrar – the winners of the team time trial stage near the Losail International Circuit – was 28 seconds,^[2] and 's Juan Antonio Flecha completed the podium, five seconds behind Farrar and 33 seconds down on Boonen.^[2] In the race's other classifications, Boonen also won the points classification,^[3] having held the lead of the standings from start to finish, Farrar's teammate Ramūnas Navardauskas won the white jersey for the youth classification, by placing eighth overall in the general classification,^[3] and finished at the head of the teams classification.^[3]

Teams

Sixteen teams competed in the 2012 Tour of Qatar. These included eleven UCI ProTour teams, three UCI Professional Continental teams, and two Continental teams.

The teams that participated in the race were:^[4]

- - - - RTS Racing Team

Stages

Stage 1

5 February 2012 – Barzan Towers to College of the North Atlantic, 141.5km (87.9miles)^[5]

Stage 1 Result

	Rider	Team	Time
1
2			+ 0"
3			+ 0"
4			+ 0"
5			+ 0"
6			+ 0"
7			+ 0"
8			+ 0"
9			+ 0"
10			+ 0"

General Classification after Stage 1

	Rider	Team	Time
1
2			+ 4"
3			+ 6"
4			+ 7"
5			+ 7"
6			+ 8"
7			+ 8"
8			+ 9"
9			+ 9"
10			+ 10"

Stage 2

6 February 2012 – Losail, 11.3km (07miles) team time trial (TTT)^[6]

Stage 2 Result

	Team	Time
1
2		+ 7"
3		+ 9"
4		+ 9"
5		+ 13"
6		+ 14"
7		+ 16"
8		+ 16"
9		+ 17"
10		+ 17"

General Classification after Stage 2

	Rider	Team	Time
1
2			+ 0"
3			+ 3"
4			+ 3"
5			+ 3"
6			+ 3"
7			+ 10"
8			+ 10"
9			+ 10"
10			+ 10"

Stage 3

7 February 2012 – Dukhan to Al-Gharafa Stadium, 146.5km (91miles)^[7]

Stage 3 Result

	Rider	Team	Time
1
2			+ 0"
3			+ 0"
4			+ 0"
5			+ 0"
6			+ 0"
7			+ 0"
8			+ 0"
9			+ 0"
10			+ 0"

General Classification after Stage 3

	Rider	Team	Time
1
2			+ 6"
3			+ 8"
4			+ 12"
5			+ 12"
6			+ 12"
7			+ 17"
8			+ 18"
9			+ 18"
10			+ 19"

Stage 4

8 February 2012 – Al Thakhira to Madinat ash Shamal, 147.5km (91.7miles)^[8]

Stage 4 Result

	Rider	Team	Time
1
2			+ 0"
3			+ 0"
4			+ 0"
5			+ 4"
6			+ 11"
7			+ 14"
8			+ 14"
9			+ 14"
10			+ 36"

General Classification after Stage 4

	Rider	Team	Time
1
2			+ 31"
3			+ 34"
4			+ 36"
5			+ 45"
6			+ 1' 00"
7			+ 1' 06"
8			+ 1' 09"
9			+ 1' 10"
10			+ 1' 14"

Stage 5

9 February 2012 – Camel Race Track to Al Khor Corniche, 160km (100miles)^[9]

Stage 5 Result

	Rider	Team	Time
1
2			+ 0"
3			+ 0"
4			+ 0"
5			+ 0"
6			+ 0"
7			+ 0"
8			+ 0"
9			+ 0"
10			+ 0"

General Classification after Stage 5

	Rider	Team	Time
1
2			+ 31"
3			+ 34"
4			+ 36"
5			+ 45"
6			+ 1' 00"
7			+ 1' 05"
8			+ 1' 06"
9			+ 1' 09"
10			+ 1' 10"

Stage 6

10 February 2012 – Sealine Beach Resort to Doha Corniche, 120.5km (74.9miles)^[10]

Stage 6 Result

	Rider	Team	Time
1
2			+ 0"
3			+ 0"
4			+ 0"
5			+ 0"
6			+ 0"
7			+ 0"
8			+ 0"
9			+ 0"
10			+ 0"

Final General Classification

	Rider	Team	Time
1
2			+ 28"
3			+ 33"
4			+ 34"
5			+ 1' 00"
6			+ 1' 05"
7			+ 1' 06"
8			+ 1' 09"
9			+ 1' 10"
10			+ 1' 14"

Classification leadership

Stage	Winner	General Classification	Points Classification	Young Rider Classification
1	Tom Boonen	Tom Boonen	Tom Boonen	Adam Blythe
2		Ramūnas Navardauskas
3	Mark Cavendish	Rüdiger Selig
4	Tom Boonen	Ramūnas Navardauskas
5	Mark Cavendish
6	Arnaud Démare
Final		Tom Boonen	Tom Boonen	Ramūnas Navardauskas

Notes and References

News: Mark Cavendish crashes in final sprint as Tom Boonen wins general classification. John. McLeary. 10 February 2012. 10 February 2012. The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group.
News: Mark Cavendish crashes as Tom Boonen wins Tour of Qatar. 10 February 2012. 10 February 2012. BBC Sport. BBC.
News: Démare opens professional account in Doha. 10 February 2012. 10 February 2012. Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited.
News: 16 teams selected for Qatar. 20 January 2012. 10 February 2012. Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited.
News: Boonen denies Blythe in Qatar. Andy. McGrath. Cycling Weekly. IPC Media Limited. 5 February 2012. 10 February 2012.
News: Garmin wins team time trial. Raajiv. Tripathi. Doha, Qatar. Qatar Tribune. Qatar Information and Marketing Company. 7 February 2012. 10 February 2012. https://archive.today/20120713004614/http://qatar-tribune.com/data/20120207/content.asp?section=sports1_1. 13 July 2012. dead. dmy-all.
News: Mark. Robinson. World Champion Mark Cavendish wins in Qatar. 7 February 2012. 10 February 2012. Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited.
News: Boonen in charge in Qatar. 8 February 2012. 10 February 2012. Sky Sports. BSkyB.
News: Mark. Robinson. Cavendish roars to victory at Al Khor Corniche. 9 February 2012. 10 February 2012. Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited.
Web site: Sealine Beach Resort to Doha Corniche. 10 February 2012. Tour of Qatar. Amaury Sport Organisation. https://web.archive.org/web/20120209082717/http://www.letour.fr/2012/TQA/LIVE/us/600/etape_par_etape.html. 9 February 2012. dead. dmy-all.