Bradley Wiggins third in Tour of Qatar time trial

World time trial champion Bradley Wiggins beaten by Niki Terpstra and Fabian Cancellara - Niki Terpstra takes overall race lead

Bradley Wiggins on stage three of the 2015 Tour of Qatar

(Image credit: Watson)

Bradley Wiggins (Sky) made his first competitive outing in world champion stripes in the Tour of Qatar time trial on Tuesday, but was beaten to the stage win.

Wiggins posted a time of 14 minutes and 12 seconds around the exposed 10.9-kilometre course, but only had a short stay in the hotseat as he was first beaten by Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing), then defending champion Niki Terpstra (Etixx-QuickStep) blew everyone away with a blistering ride.

Last year's Paris-Roubaix winner Terpstra now moves into the overall race lead after his stage win, 11 secs ahead of Maciej Bodnar (Tinkoff-Saxo). Ian Stannard (Sky) put in a strong ride to finish fifth on the stage and move up to third overall.

Niki Terpstra surprised at beating Bradley Wiggins in Qatar time trial

Niki Terpstra says he thought that Bradley Wiggins would 'beat everyone by 40 seconds' in the Tour of Qatar stage

Stannard's Sky team-mate and British compatriot Luke Rowe also rode well to finish 15th, and now sits fifth overall and leads the best young rider classification.

The flat, short course suited power riders as much as the time trial specialists, creating a top 10 that could also serve as who's who of 2015 classics contenders. Worthy of note is that former Hour Record holder Matthias Brändle (IAM) placed sixth.

The Tour of Qatar continues on Wednesday with a 165.5km road stage. The race concludes on Friday.

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Results

Tour of Qatar 2015, stage three: Lusail Circuit, 10.9km ITT

1. Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx-QuickStep in 14-03

2. Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Trek Factory Racing at 8 secs

3. Bradley Wiggins (GBr) at 9 secs

4. Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo at same time

5. Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky at 10 secs

6. Matthias Brändle (Aut) IAM Cycling at 18 secs

7. Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Etixx-QuickStep at 20 secs

8. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) MTN-Qhubeka at 21 secs

9. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing at 24 secs

10. Reto Hollenstein (Swi) IAM Cycling at 25 secs

Overall classification after stage three

1. Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx-QuickStep

2. Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo at 11 secs

3. Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky at 12 secs

4. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing at 19 secs

5. Luke Rowe (GBr) Sky at 33 secs

6. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha at 36 secs

7. Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx-QuickStep at 42 secs

8. Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling at 44 secs

9. Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana at 46 secs

10. Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo at 48 secs

Niki Terpstra on stage three of the 2015 Tour of Qatar

Niki Terpstra took the race lead after stage three
(Image credit: Watson)

Alexander Kristoff on stage three of the 2015 Tour of Qatar

Alexander Kristoff dropped off the top of the GC leaderboard
(Image credit: Watson)

Bradley Wiggins on stage three of the 2015 Tour of Qatar

Bradley Wiggins placed third
(Image credit: Watson)

Niki Terpstra on stage three of the 2015 Tour of Qatar

Niki Terpstra on his way to the stage win
(Image credit: Watson)

Luke Rowe on stage three of the 2015 Tour of Qatar

Luke Rowe moved into the best young rider's jersey
(Image credit: Watson)

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Nigel Wynn
Former Associate Editor

Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.