The Tour of Qatar puts unusual demands on riders: it has no significant climbs, but almost every stage is affected by strong crosswinds.

The flat stages, suitable for sprinters, and individual time trial meant that specialists in these disciplines also chose to ride in Qatar.

[2] The significant challenge in the Tour of Qatar was the strong winds across the desert, which frequently caused the peloton to split into echelons.

[4] Boonen and Terpstra were both among the favourites for the overall victory, along with world time-trial champion Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky).

[11] The race began with a 136 km (85 mi) route from Dukhan in the west of Qatar to the Sealine Beach Resort, Mesaieed.

[13] Shortly before the second intermediate sprint, Tom Boonen (Etixx–Quick-Step) and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff–Saxo) were involved in a crash, but were both able to remount and rejoin the peloton.

[14] After Nikias Arndt (Team Giant–Alpecin) won that sprint, Greg Van Avermaet made a short-lived attack before a more determined effort from Lars Boom and Lieuwe Westra (both Astana) and Matti Breschel (Tinkoff–Saxo).

[13] Though they achieved a lead of nearly a minute, the attack was ultimately unsuccessful, due to crosswinds and a combination of Etixx–Quick-Step, Trek Factory Racing and Bora–Argon 18 riding at a high tempo.

[13][16] In the final kilometre, José Joaquín Rojas (Movistar Team) attached himself to the back of the Etixx–Quick-Step leadout train.

[19] Early in the stage, Etixx–Quick-Step launched an attack, quickly splitting the pack in crosswinds to create a lead group of 30 riders.

[20] 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.

[25] Favourites for the stage victory included current world champion Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky), four-time world champion Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing), Matthias Brändle (IAM Cycling) and Niki Terpstra (Etixx–Quick-Step).

[25] Wiggins was wearing the rainbow jersey of the world time-trial champion in a race for the first time and was riding a road bike with modifications for better aerodynamics.

[28] The fourth stage of the race was a 165.5 km (103 mi) route from Al Thakhira to the city of Mesaieed.

[32] Unlike the earlier road stages, the lack of crosswinds meant that there were no echelons or significant splits in the peloton.

[32][33] The strong pace caused several riders to crash, including Lars Boom (Astana), Theo Bos (MTN–Qhubeka) and Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky).

Kittel took a turn in his lead-out train; since he was in poor form following a period of illness, he had requested the team support Arndt instead.

[34] In the final kilometre, the Katusha team moved to the front before Kristoff again started his sprint early; again, the other sprinters were unable to catch him and he crossed the finish line first.

[39] Hayman won both intermediate sprints and at one point was virtual leader of the race, before the peloton behind took up the chase in earnest.

[38][40] After the race, it was revealed that the three Tinkoff–Saxo riders in the leading group were not aware that Terpstra had been dropped and, with team radios banned, directeur sportif Bjarne Riis was not able to inform them.

[40][41] As they approached the finishing line, Kristoff again opened his sprint early and was able to hold off the rest of the field for his third stage victory of the race.

Sagan therefore moved into first place in the young riders competition, overtaking Luke Rowe (Team Sky).

His bike had developed a puncture about 20 km (12 mi) from the finish and he had attempted to regain contact with the peloton by chasing in the slipstream of his team car.

[42] A break was allowed to go away early, formed of Marcus Burghardt (BMC Racing Team), Preben Van Hecke (Topsport Vlaanderen–Baloise), Nicola Boem and Stefano Pirazzi (both Bardiani–CSF).

They were able to build a lead of over two minute, but Team Katusha took up the chase to support Kristoff in seeking bonus seconds.

[45][46] Etixx–Quick-Step then sent their rider Iljo Keisse into a breakaway alongside Gijs Van Hoecke (Topsport Vlaanderen–Baloise), with the intent of preventing Kristoff winning any more bonus seconds.

Keisse won the intermediate sprint with Van Hoecke second; they then allowed the peloton – led by Katusha – to catch them.

[45] In the final kilometres of the stage, Team Katusha, who had done most of the work throughout the day, were unable to maintain their position at the head of the peloton.

[47] Fabian Cancellara put in an attack in the final five kilometres, but was brought back by the peloton led in particular by IAM Cycling and Astana.

Similarly, the winner, second-placed and third-placed riders in intermediate sprints won three-, two- and one-second bonuses respectively.