Tour of Qatar

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The Middle Eastern race would have been held this week before organizers announced in December it had been canceled.

The Tour of Qatar will return in 2018.

The Middle Eastern race was recently upgraded to WorldTour status and its cancellation comes as a surprise.

Organizers Eddy Merckx and Dirk De Pauw look ahead to the future of the two Middle Eastern races, which could be added to the WorldTour.

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The top spring classics stars, like Alexander Kristoff and Greg Van Avermaet, agree that Tour of Qatar is an ideal tune-up race.

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Alexander Kristoff claims his third win of the week, and Mark Cavendish wraps up the overall title at Tour of Qatar.

The British sprinter finishes second to Alexander Kristoff on the final stage, but benefits from time bonuses to take the overall victory.

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Untimely flat tires leave Edvald Boasson Hagen out of the race as Alexander Kristoff sprints to victory, and Mark Cavendish takes GC lead.

The Norwegian began stage 4 of the Tour of Qatar with a 26-second lead, but two flats cost him the jersey.

Edvald Boasson Hagen loses the overall lead due to flat tires, while Alexander Kristoff sprints to his second victory of the week.

Matthew Busche spent six seasons in the WorldTour and is now riding at the Pro Continental level. He hopes to return to the top rung.

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The Tour of Qatar's golden leader's jersey is handed from one Dimension Data rider to another as Edvald Boasson Hagen wins stage 3.

Teammates and friends agree that Edvald Boasson Hagen's development was stunted at Sky, but now he is spreading his wings with Dimension Data.

Edvald Boasson Hagen continues Dimension Data's domination of the Tour of Qatar, winning the stage 3 time trial.

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On another windy day in Qatar, Mark Cavendish fights to keep his leader's jersey, while Alexander Kristoff wins stage 2.

Riders are calling for more safety measures and repercussions for race organizers who fail to take appropriate precautions.

The Katusha rider edges Cavendish at the finish line of stage 2, but the latter holds onto his overall race lead.

For the first time this season, a team is using disc brakes in a professional race — the Tour of Qatar. Reactions to their use are mixed.

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Mark Cavendish notched his first victory of 2016 on a wind-swept day in stage 1 of Tour of Qatar.

Mark Cavendish picks up his first victory of the season by winning a bunch sprint and now leads the race's overall standings.

Mark Cavendish says he may or may not reconsider his goal of winning an Olympic gold medal on the track after this week's Tour of Qatar.

Alexander Kristoff hopes his team's doping problems don't upend his season

Race officials say Belgian team repeatedly tardy, disrespected female race employee

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Check out Peloton Magazine's author page.

After a sandstorm and exploding tires in 2015, some teams will skip the Tours of Qatar and Oman next season. Trek says it's "complicated."

Etixx-Quick-Step won the last four editions of the Tour of Qatar, but the Belgian team will be conspicuously absent from the 2016 race.

With ample oil money and a hunger to host prestigious sports events, countries like Qatar and UAE are becoming a big part of pro cycling.

Stage 5 of the race through the desert was canceled after a rider protest because of weather conditions

Why are bike races held in the sandy, sunny, and flat Middle East? Caley Fretz checks in from the Persian Gulf region.

When the going gets tough, whether it's in the sandstorms of Qatar or on the cobblestones of Europe, Etixx-Quick-Step is the team to watch

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Terpstra holds on to win overall in Doha under heavy pressure from Katusha. Bennett is surprise winner of final stage in sprint

The Dutch rider wins by 6 seconds as Sam Bennett claims victory in the final stage

Bradley Wiggins says winning Paris-Roubaix is a difficult feat — as tough as learning how to moonwalk

Two wins in a row for Kristoff in Qatar, as Terpstra holds the overall lead in the windswept Middle Eastern desert

Niki Terpstra brings a six-second overall lead into Friday's final stage

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The peloton fights headwinds on Wednesday, and Kristoff doubles-up with the win, snatching the points classification jersey from Boonen

Suffering from the aftermath of illness and missed training after Tour Down Under, Kittel hopes for better form later in the spring

Niki Terpstra remains in the overall lead with two days of racing left as the peloton faces another windy day of action in the desert

GC standings get shaken up in Qatar as a short individual time trial challenges the peloton with more windy weather

"April is a long way away, I'm pleased to be fairly close today," Bradley Wiggins says after coming up short of a TT win in Qatar

Niki Terpstra of Etixx-Quick-Step wins Tour of Qatar stage 3, taking the overall race lead along the way

Peter Sagan is seventh overall at Tour of Qatar. The TT may be his chance to take the overall lead, but first he must beat his teammate

Bradley Wiggins is content to wind down his career as a professional road cyclist, but has plenty of big objectives still on the horizon

Aboard a new team for 2015, Sagan is finding new ways to improve and refine his talent with an aim to win his first monument this season

A sandstorm tears apart the field at Tour of Qatar, and a select group sprints for the win in the second day of racing in the desert

The Katusha rider claims victory and now leads the overall standings with four days of racing left

The Russian billionaire says Russia's struggling economy is not yet affecting his company or his cycling team

Joaquin Rojas wins stage 1 to take the first leader's jersey at the Tour of Qatar

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The Tour of Qatar is not about training for Bradley Wiggins. If he can do a good time trial, he'll fight for the victory

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Check out Peloton Magazine's author page.

The Ladies Tour of Qatar starts Tuesday in the country's capital city of Doha

Classics strongmen, sprint speedsters, and even a Tour de France champion set to start spring race seasons in Qatar this February

Abu Dhabi officials announced the four-day Abu Dhabi Tour, the latest in a series of races in the oil-rich Middle East

Grand tour stage winners, points classification champions, and classics superstars will take on the early-season race in Qatar

In Notes from the Scrum, Matthew Beaudin reflects on his experience at the Tour of Qatar and the race's role in cycling's non-stop calendar

The Qatari cycling chief discusses his tour and whether it's worth the $12 million price tage

Stage 6 and final overall results from the 2014 Tour of Qatar

Arnaud Demare crashes the party in Qatar for a stage win

Dutchman rolls out of Doha a winner and Omega Pharma takes four classifications and three stages

In a Q&A in Qatar, Trek director Dirk Demol appraises the race and his new team, and reflects on his escape from factory life on the bike

German champion punches through for his first win in Qatar

Results from stage 5 of the 2014 Tour of Qatar

German champion takes the stage 5 bunch sprint, finally landing a victory with one day to go at the Tour of Qatar

The Swiss is riding into fitness during a back-to-back racing campaign in the Middle East and says without power, a rider can do nothing

Evan Huffman isn't at the forefront of many American fans' cycling viewscapes, but he hopes to be

Results from stage 4 of the 2014 Tour of Qatar

Belgian classics king wins second stage in a week with a bike throw

The Belgian classics king is back and his wins in Qatar have historically foretold strong cobbled campaigns