Monday's stage is 145.5km long and from Dukhan to Al Khor Corniche and saw a breakaway group of around twenty riders including a number of sprinters some two and a half minutes ahead of the peleton.
Team Sky's Brit Jeremy Hunt (pictured below) was up at the front doing plenty of work as the race on a sunny but windy day reached its conclusion for the day.
Team Sky and Quick Step set the pace with 3km to go, trying to get their riders in position for a sprint finish.
Attacks started to come and it was Quick Step's Tom Boonen, the race winner last year, who beat Garmin#s Heinrich Hassulet and HTC Highroad's Mark Renshaw over the line.
Boonen takes the race leaders jersey by four seconds from Mark Renshaw as Race leader Lars Boom, who had stomach problems, came in five minutes down.
Garmin's Roger Hammond was the first Brit home in eighth place.
Stage 2 is 135.5km long and is from Camel Race Track to Doha Golf Club.
Picture copyright of Covsupport News Service. Credit CNS/KM