The Tour of Qatar’s first day ended in a small group sprint won by  Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data).  He and 20 others broke free in the cross-winds after only 40 kilometres of racing. Moreno Hofland placed 18^th.

The wind played a big role in the first stage from Dukhan to Al Khor Corniche, which saw 21 cyclists muscle free early on. "We weren't strong enough to be part of that group,” sports director Jan Boven said after the race. "You can't say that it's a tactical mistake, because it's impossible to form a tactical plan in races like this. You just have to be in the right place and make sure that you're part of the first group."

Team LottoNL-Jumbo was unable to do that this time, but it didn't lose the stage because of that. "The gap didn't become too big,” Boven continued. "At one point, we seemed to have a second chance in the stage because it was a real war. We lost two riders because of punctures and Twan Castelijns crashed heavily. We still were with three riders in the second group and with 30 kilometres to go, we were only 40 seconds behind. We didn't come closer than that, though. It was a fantastic stage, however, and this is why we came to Qatar."

The result of the first stage doesn't change Team LottoNL-Jumbo's plans in Qatar. "We're taking it day by day,” Boven added. "We want to win a stage and that's possible. It's going to be a different race tomorrow. We have to make sure that we don't lose it in the first 60 kilometres. We will make our plan afterwards."