Two-man Attack Out Guns the Peloton in the Desert Winds

The Tour of Qatar did not go according to plan on stage two, as two riders from small teams caused a major upset, Geert Steurs (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator) and Wouter Mol (Vacansoleil) defied the wind and the peloton in a successful two man breakaway.

Eventually Steurs outsprinted his break companion to take the stage win. Third place went to Milram's Roger Kluge, in the first chase group. The stage win was Steurs' first win since 2006.

Further back, Edvald Boason Hagen (Sky) lost his overall lead while his teammate Kurt-Asle Arvesen crashed out with a broken collarbone.

The first group of chasers which included last year's winner Tom Boonen, finished nearly two minutes down on Steurs, while the remnants of the peloton came over the finish line in fits and spurts, with race leader Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) further back.

The peloton fell to pieces early on as Mol and Steurs took off and built up a lead of over 12 minutes, followed by a large chase group of 26 which contained many of the pre-race favourites. Behind them, the pace and the unrelenting wind caused the peloton to splinter.

Top Ten Stage Two:

1. Geert Steurs (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator 3:31:00  
2. Wouter Mol (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team    
3. Roger Kluge (Ger) Team Milram 0:01:51  
4. Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Cervélo TestTeam 0:01:54  
5. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma - Lotto 0:01:55  
6. Roger Hammond (GBr) Cervélo TestTeam    
7. Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step    
8. Jérémy Hunt (GBr) Cervélo TestTeam    
9. Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Katusha    
10. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team

Top Ten Overall After Stage Two:

1. Wouter Mol (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team 3:40:51  
2. Geert Steurs (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator 0:00:09  
3. Roger Kluge (Ger) Team Milram 0:02:02  
4. Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step 0:02:05  
5. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team 0:02:06  
6. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma - Lotto 0:02:18  
7. Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Katusha    
8. Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Team Saxo Bank 0:02:40  
9. Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Transitions 0:02:41  
10. Marco Velo (Ita) Quick Step 0:02:47