Bradley Wiggins's Paris-Roubaix goal on April 12 could receive a boost by riding the Tour of Qatar given that on four occasions the overall winner has gone on to win the cobbled classic.
"Whatever group you're in here it's hard work," Sir Bradley said after stage one on Sunday.
"That's the good thing about this race, if you're in the back, you're still riding hard. From that point of view, it's good."
Wind, sometimes reaching 25 miles per hour, pushed the group across the Persian Gulf state yesterday and, with the effort of teams like Etixx-Quick Step, it caused splits.
Etixx's Tom Boonen won Paris-Roubaix four times, three times he won the Tour of Qatar two months earlier. The same for his team-mate Niki Terpstra, who won both races in 2014.
Despite the 33-second loss, Wiggins appeared pleased with his scheduling choice.
"This type of race, I always feel like I need a day or two find my legs and get used to fighting and taking risks," Wiggins added. "I was happy with the way I felt."
Team Sky's sports director and 2001 Paris-Roubaix winner, Dutchman Servais Knaven is guiding Wiggins through Qatar and the spring. He indicated that Qatar success or failure does not translate directly to a Paris-Roubaix win.
"It doesn't always say something about the legs when you are in the back and it splits," Knaven said.
"You could have the best legs of the world, and the race could still split in front of you."
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Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.
