page_title: 2015 Tour of Qatar
section_title: Stage 2
hierarchical_section_title: 2015 Tour of Qatar / Stages / Stage 2
caption_attribution_description: Parcours de la deuxième étape du Tour du Qatar 2015. This map was created from OpenStreetMap project data, collected by the community. This map may be incomplete, and may contain errors. Don't rely solely on it for navigation.
context_page_description: The 2015 Tour of Qatar was the 14th edition of the Tour of Qatar cycling stage race. It was organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation, the organisers of the Tour de France. The race was rated as a 2.HC event, the second highest rating an event can receive, and was part of the 2015 UCI Asia Tour.
  The 2015 race consisted of six stages. It started in Dukhan on 8 February 2015 and finished on 13 February in Doha, the capital city of Qatar. The Tour of Qatar puts unusual demands on riders: it has no significant climbs, but almost every stage is affected by strong crosswinds. These conditions make the race ideal preparation for the spring classics season, so many prominent classics riders were present. The flat stages, suitable for sprinters, and individual time trial meant that specialists in these disciplines also chose to ride in Qatar.
  The race was won by Dutch rider Niki Terpstra of Etixx–Quick-Step. It was the second successive year that Terpstra won the race after his victory in 2014 and the fourth successive victory for Etixx–Quick-Step. It was the eighth victory for the team in Qatar.
context_section_description: The second stage took the riders 187.5 km (117 mi) from Al Wakra, south of Doha, to Al Khor Corniche.
  Early in the stage, Etixx–Quick-Step launched an attack, quickly splitting the pack in crosswinds to create a lead group of 30 riders. Riders left behind included the race leader, José Joaquín Rojas (Movistar Team), Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky), Marcel Kittel (Team Giant–Alpecin) and Lars Boom (Astana). The lead group, however, failed to establish a lead of more than half a minute and work from BMC Racing Team and MTN–Qhubeka brought the field back together after 60 km (37 mi), when the wind changed to a tailwind.
  At this point a five-man breakaway formed, including Michael Mørkøv (Tinkoff–Saxo), Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team), Johann Van Zyl (MTN–Qhubeka), Jelle Wallays (Topsport Vlaanderen–Baloise), and Mathew Hayman (Orica–GreenEDGE), establishing a lead of nearly four minutes.
   At the next change of direction, Etixx–Quick-Step again attacked in the crosswinds. The breakaway was caught after 124 km (77 mi), with the peloton again splitting. Wiggins, Kittel and Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) had all been dropped. Soon afterwards, further attacks from Etixx–Quick-Step removed Rojas and Arnaud Démare (FDJ) from the leading group. Tom Boonen won the second intermediate sprint, earning three bonus seconds.
  With 5 km (3 mi) remaining, the leading group was reduced to 15 riders. In the final kilometre, Andrea Guardini and Niki Terpstra had formed a small gap, but Alexander Kristoff bridged up to the pair and launched his sprint with 500 m (1,640 ft) remaining. Kristoff was able to win the stage ahead of Guardini, with Van Avermaet in third.
  Due to the 10-second time bonus for winning the stage, Kristoff took over the overall lead of the race, one second ahead of Boonen, who moved into the lead of the points competition. Several riders who had been contenders for the overall victory, including Wiggins and Cancellara, finished over nine minutes behind Kristoff, eliminating them from contention for overall victory.
caption: Stage 2 route
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