Alexander Kristoff beats Mark Cavendish to win Tour of Qatar stage two

Norwegian Alexander Kristoff just pips Mark Cavendish in a sprint showdown in the Tour of Qatar - Cavendish retains overall race lead - Photos by Yuzuru Sunada

Alexander Kristoff and Mark Cavendish on stage two of the 2016 Tour of Qatar

(Image credit: Yuzuru SUNADA)

The second stage of the 2016 Tour Qatar ended in the predicted sprint finish with Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) narrowly beating Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) to the line. The two were part of a small group who remained after a crash took out a number of riders around 300 metres out.

The stage was held as a second test event for this year’s Doha World Championships and took in  four laps of the 15.3 km circuit, before heading away for a finish at Qatar University. Before that circuit, though, the peloton headed north, passing the Losail motor racing circuit then turning back to Doha.

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Owen Rogers is an experienced journalist, covering professional cycling and specialising in women's road racing. He has followed races such as the Women's Tour and Giro d'Italia Donne, live-tweeting from Women's WorldTour events as well as providing race reports, interviews, analysis and news stories. He has also worked for race teams, to provide post race reports and communications.