2014 Tour of Qatar explained

2014 Tour of Qatar
Date:	9–14 February 2014
Stages:	6
Distance:	714.4
Unit:	km
Time:	15h 53' 37"
Speed:	44.9
First Color:	gold
First:	Niki Terpstra
First Nat:	Netherlands
Second:	Tom Boonen
Second Nat:	Belgium
Third:	Jürgen Roelandts
Third Nat:	Belgium
Points Color:	grey
Points:	Tom Boonen
Points Nat:	Belgium
Youth Color:	white
Youth:	Guillaume Van Keirsbulck
Youth Nat:	Belgium
Previous:	2013
Next:	2015

The 2014 Tour of Qatar was the 13th 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 9 and 14 February 2014, in Qatar.

The race was won by rider Niki Terpstra, who won the opening stage of the race and held the lead throughout.^[1] Second place went to his teammate Tom Boonen,^[2] who won two stages and the points classification,^[3] while third place went to Jürgen Roelandts of the squad.^[4] The young rider classification was won by another rider, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck,^[1] while the teams classification was also won by, after five of the team's eight riders – Terpstra, Boonen, Van Keirsbulck (seventh), Stijn Vandenbergh (eighth) and Andrew Fenn (ninth) – finished in the top ten overall.^[1]

Teams

Nineteen teams competed in the 2014 Tour of Qatar. These included thirteen UCI World Tour teams, five UCI Professional Continental teams and the Skydive Dubai Pro Cycling Team.

The teams that participated in the race were:

Race overview

Stage	Date	Course	Distance	Type		Winner
1	9 February		135.5km (84.2miles)		Flat stage
2	10 February		160.5km (99.7miles)		Flat stage
3	11 February		10.9km (06.8miles)		Individual time trial
4	12 February		135km (84miles)		Flat stage
5	13 February		159km (99miles)		Flat stage
6	14 February		113.5km (70.5miles)		Flat stage

Stages

Stage 1

9 February 2014 – Al Wakra to Dukhan Beach, 135.5km (84.2miles)^[5]

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

General Classification after Stage 1 Rider Team Time 1 2 + 9" 3 + 12" 4 + 17" 5 + 21" 6 + 22" 7 + 23" 8 + 23" 9 + 23" 10 + 23"

Stage 2

10 February 2014 – Camel Race Track to Al Khor Corniche, 160.5km (99.7miles)^[6]

Stage 2 Result Rider Team Time 1 2 s.t. 3 s.t. 4 s.t. 5 s.t. 6 s.t. 7 s.t. 8 s.t. 9 + 5" 10 + 5"

General Classification after Stage 2 Rider Team Time 1 2 + 5" 3 + 14" 4 + 20" 5 + 26" 6 + 26" 7 + 26" 8 + 26" 9 + 31" 10 + 31"

Stage 3

11 February 2014 – Lusail Circuit, 10.9km (06.8miles), individual time trial (ITT)^[7]

Stage 3 Result Rider Team Time 1 2 + 1" 3 + 6" 4 + 6" 5 + 8" 6 + 10" 7 + 13" 8 + 15" 9 + 16" 10 + 17"

General Classification after Stage 3 Rider Team Time 1 2 + 21" 3 + 24" 4 + 28" 5 + 35" 6 + 45" 7 + 49" 8 + 49" 9 + 58" 10 + 1' 06"

Stage 4

12 February 2014 – Dukhan Beach to Mesaieed, 135km (84miles)^[8]

Stage 4 Result Rider Team Time 1 2 s.t. 3 s.t. 4 s.t. 5 s.t. 6 s.t. 7 s.t. 8 s.t. 9 s.t. 10 s.t.

General Classification after Stage 4 Rider Team Time 1 2 + 17" 3 + 20" 4 + 37" 5 + 47" 6 + 48" 7 + 51" 8 + 1' 00" 9 + 1' 08" 10 + 1' 21"

Stage 5

13 February 2014 – Al Zubara Fort to Madinat ash Shamal, 159km (99miles)^[9]

Stage 5 Result Rider Team Time 1 2 s.t. 3 s.t. 4 s.t. 5 s.t. 6 s.t. 7 s.t. 8 s.t. 9 s.t. 10 s.t.

General Classification after Stage 5 Rider Team Time 1 2 + 17" 3 + 20" 4 + 37" 5 + 48" 6 + 56" 7 + 57" 8 + 1' 05" 9 + 1' 18" 10 + 1' 23"

Stage 6

14 February 2014 – Sealine Beach Resort to Doha Corniche, 113.5km (70.5miles)^[10]

Stage 6 Result Rider Team Time 1 2 s.t. 3 s.t. 4 s.t. 5 s.t. 6 s.t. 7 s.t. 8 s.t. 9 s.t. 10 s.t.

Final General Classification Rider Team Time 1 2 + 17" 3 + 20" 4 + 37" 5 + 48" 6 + 56" 7 + 57" 8 + 1' 05" 9 + 1' 18" 10 + 1' 23"

Classification leadership table

Stage	Winner	General classification	Points classification	Young rider classification	Teams classification
1	Niki Terpstra	Niki Terpstra	Niki Terpstra	Sam Bennett
2	Tom Boonen	Andrew Fenn
3	Michael Hepburn	Guillaume Van Keirsbulck
4	Tom Boonen	Tom Boonen
5	André Greipel
6	Arnaud Démare
Final		Niki Terpstra	Tom Boonen	Guillaume Van Keirsbulck

Notes and References

1. News: OPQS conquers the desert. . Decolef. 14 February 2014. 14 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140221232921/http://www.omegapharma-quickstep.com/en/news/show/tour-of-qatar-stage-6-opqs-conquers-the-desert/1584. 21 February 2014. dead. dmy-all.
2. News: Niki Terpstra seals victory as Arnaud Demare claims final stage. Sky Sports. BSkyB. 14 February 2014. 14 February 2014.
3. News: Démare wins stage 6. Barry. Ryan. Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 14 February 2014. 14 February 2014.
4. News: Review: Tour of Qatar. . Belgian Cycling Project. 14 February 2014. 14 February 2014. 22 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140222220101/http://www.lottobelisol.be/en/review-tour-of-qatar-1656.htm. dead.
5. Web site: Stage 1. Tour of Qatar. Amaury Sport Organisation. 11 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140213095842/http://www.letour.fr/tour-of-qatar/2014/us/stage-1.html. 13 February 2014. dead. dmy-all.
6. Web site: Stage 2. Tour of Qatar. Amaury Sport Organisation. 11 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140213095204/http://www.letour.fr/tour-of-qatar/2014/us/stage-2.html. 13 February 2014. dead. dmy-all.
7. Web site: Stage 3. Tour of Qatar. Amaury Sport Organisation. 11 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140213110357/http://www.letour.fr/tour-of-qatar/2014/us/stage-3.html. 13 February 2014. dead. dmy-all.
8. Web site: Stage 4. Tour of Qatar. Amaury Sport Organisation. 11 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140213094815/http://www.letour.fr/tour-of-qatar/2014/us/stage-4.html. 13 February 2014. dead. dmy-all.
9. Web site: Stage 5. Tour of Qatar. Amaury Sport Organisation. 11 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140213110652/http://www.letour.fr/tour-of-qatar/2014/us/stage-5.html. 13 February 2014. dead. dmy-all.
10. Web site: Stage 6. Tour of Qatar. Amaury Sport Organisation. 11 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140213110923/http://www.letour.fr/tour-of-qatar/2014/us/stage-6.html. 13 February 2014. dead. dmy-all.