Movistar's Jose Joaquin Rojas has won the opening stage of the Tour Of Qatar.
The Tour Of Qatar had attracted some of the biggest names in the sport to it's six stage race which started witn a 136km stage from Dukhan to Sealine Beach.
Riders such as Sir Bradley Wiggins who was leading a Team Sky side which included Brits Andy Fenn, Luke Rowe and Ian Stannard, Peter Sagan now of TInkoff Saxo and Fabien Cancellera, were amongst a field which had won a combined total of 23 Monuments, 7 world titles (Road Race and Time Trials) and more than seventy Grand Tour stages.
Jarl Salomein (Topsport) and Luca Sterbini (Bardiani) went straight on the attack as soon as the flag dropped and were 8.30 clear after twenty kilometres.
Stijn Vandenbergh (Etixx) and Matti Breschel (Tinkoff) started to chase down the duo who were now ten minutes ahead of the peloton on a windy day.
This wind caused some crashes with Michael Morkov, one rider who went down and saw Vandenbergh and Breschel having to drop back to the peloton before Salomein took the first sprint.
The gap steadied at around three minutes with sixty kilometres gone but some acceleration from the peloton had that lead down to 45 seconds as a forty five strong group which included Niki Terpstra, Marcel Kittel, Peter Sagan, Fabian Cancellara, Alexander Kristoff, Edvald Boasson Hagen and Arnaud Démare, caught the duo and took over on the front.
All the groups on the road were back together at the 83kms gone mark, just before another crash which featured Peter Sagan and Tom Boonen and Niklas Arnt taking the second sprint of the day ahead of Niki Terpstra and Roberto Ferrari.
BMC's Greg van Avermaet briefly escaped but was back in the peloton with 37 kilometres left so just over ten kilometres later, Lars Boom and Lieuwe Westra (Astana) got out of the peloton and clear with Matti Breschel.
They had a lead of fifty seconds with twenty kilometres to go but were deemed too dangerous to be left out front and the peloton which had again split into two groups saw a front group of fifty riders which did not include Bradley Wiggins, bring the trio back.
It was now out of this front group as to who would win and it came down to a sprint which saw JJ Rojas of Movistar take the win and put himself in the Gold Jersey in a time of 3.49.50 ahead of Tom Boonen, Arnaud Demare, Peter Sagan and ireland's Sam Bennett.