Image 1 of 20 Taylor Phinney leads his BMC teammates (Image credit: AFP) Image 2 of 20 Brent Bookwalter (BMC) on the podium in yellow (Image credit: ASO) Image 3 of 20 Team BMC on the way to a stage win (Image credit: ASO) Image 4 of 20 Team BMC in action (Image credit: ASO) Image 5 of 20 Team BMC (Image credit: ASO) Image 6 of 20 Stage 2 winning team BMC (Image credit: ASO) Image 7 of 20 Best young rider Taylor Phinney (BMC) (Image credit: ASO) Image 8 of 20 Best young rider Taylor Phinney (BMC) (Image credit: ASO) Image 9 of 20 Race leader Brent Bookwalter (BMC) (Image credit: ASO) Image 10 of 20 Team Sky time trials (Image credit: ASO) Image 11 of 20 Team Sky in Qatar (Image credit: ASO) Image 12 of 20 The racers time trialed through the desert during stage 2 (Image credit: ASO) Image 13 of 20 FDJ in formation (Image credit: ASO) Image 14 of 20 Omega Pharma Lotto team time trials (Image credit: ASO) Image 15 of 20 Team Katusha time trials (Image credit: ASO) Image 16 of 20 RadioShack team time trials (Image credit: ASO) Image 17 of 20 AG2R team time trials (Image credit: ASO) Image 18 of 20 Brent Bookwalter (BMC Racing) riding in the bunch. (Image credit: Jon Devich) Image 19 of 20 The BMC Racing Team celebrate victory in the Tour of Qatar TTT (Image credit: AFP) Image 20 of 20 The BMC Racing Team lined out across the road (Image credit: AFP)

Inspired by a flying performance from Taylor Phinney and backed by some specific preparation at their January training camp, BMC stormed to victory on the stage 2 team time trial of the Tour of Qatar, beating Sky by five seconds over the 14km out-and-back test. The result means that Brent Bookwalter retains the golden jersey and he now has four BMC teammates for company in the top five overall.

The pan flat course along Al Rufaa Street in the Doha hinterland was hardly the most stimulating, although the blustery conditions did at least require some degree of tactical finesse. The teams rode along a deserted highway into a block headwind for 7km, and then took a sharp left turn and came back, this time hurried along by the stiff breeze. The question, therefore, was how best to dose one's effort over the two halves of the circuit.

At the halfway point, Team Sky had a lead of some 11 seconds over BMC but the feeling from the British squad at the finish was that they had simply burnt too many matches on the way out. Having lost Chris Sutton and Gabriel Rasch shortly after the midway point, the men in black were unable to make the most of the wind at their backs in the finale and their advantage duly crumbled.

BMC were the last team off, and by contrast, they had been relatively cautious starters, but with Phinney taking the reins on the fast run-in to the line, the balance began to tip in their favour. The American youngster was the ringleader of their effort, but he had strong assistance from the golden jersey of Brent Bookwalter in particular, as well as Steve Cummings before he swung off in the closing kilometres.

Although BMC finished the bare minimum of five riders, they stopped the clock some five seconds quicker than Team Sky to claim the stage victory, maintain Bookwalter's golden jersey and place Phinney, Adam Blythe and Greg Van Avermaet in prime positions near the head of the general classification. Omega Pharma-QuickStep took third place, 10 seconds down, while RadioShack-Nissan came home a further second behind in fourth.

"I like to go well in the time trial, but it's a little better for me when there are changes and it's up and down," said Bookwalter, who paid tribute to the part Phinney played in sparking the BMC comeback on the return leg.

Indeed, though only 22 years of age, Phinney was very visibly the conductor of BMC's team time trial effort, reminding his teammates to check they were in the right gear at the start, cajoling them through the course's one technical section, and then going into overdrive on the final 800 metres to the finish line.

"Team time trialling is my kind of thing and I like stepping into more of a leadership role," Phinney said afterwards. "Brent's the one in the leader's jersey right now but I'm the one with a little bit more team time trialling experience, so I can be upbeat and keep everyone relaxed and happy and at the same time motivate them. It was great, it went perfectly."

Preparation

Team time trial training is (almost) par for the course at pre-season training camps these days, but BMC took its pursuit of marginal gains one step further at its January get together in Denia by practising the discipline on their road bikes with the specific demands of the Tour of Qatar team time trial in mind.

Steve Cummings explained that the preparation had been the brainchild of new BMC performance director, Allan Peiper, and even though he was a late replacement for Marcus Burghardt in Qatar, the team's order had been established. "There was quite a lot of work done specifically for this team time trial in Denia with Allan Peiper and Max Sciandri, and it all just felt so smooth," he said. "On a course like this, there are no hiding places, but if you've got a good strategy, it's straightforward."

The block headwind in the opening half of the course meant that strategy played a greater role than one might anticipate on an otherwise undemanding circuit. RadioShack, for instance, employed a double pace-line on the way out, mindful of the conditions, and that cautious approach saw them hit the midway point all of 20 seconds down on Sky.

On the way back, Cancellara was let off the leash, however, quickly dropping Stijn Devolder and Yaroslav Popovych en route to dragging his team to fourth place and giving a early indication of his condition ahead of the classics. "It's not an individual stage," Cancellara said. "Everyone showed good strength today, and I think we can be happy with our performance."

Going into Tuesday's 143km stage from Al Wakra to Mesaieed, Bookwalter leads a block of BMC riders at the head of the overall standings, but the in-form Bernhard Eisel (Sky) looms with menace at 11 seconds, just ahead of teammates Edvald Boasson Hagen and Geraint Thomas, and there are still only 33 seconds separating the top 20 on GC.

"It's just not me who is wearing the leader's jersey, I feel like it's the whole team," said Bookwalter. "Those guys made it happen today and I'm just honoured to be the one wearing it."

The Tour of Qatar continues on Tuesday with the 143km third stage from Al Wakra to Mesaieed. Time bonuses, cross winds and early-season form are likely to again decide who comes out on top.

Full Results

Teams # Rider Name (Country) Team Result 1 BMC Racing Team 0:16:07 2 Sky Procycling 0:00:05 3 Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:00:10 4 Radioshack Leopard 0:00:11 5 Katusha Team 0:00:15 6 Astana Pro Team 0:00:17 7 FDJ 0:00:23 8 Orica Greenedge 9 Cannondale 0:00:24 10 Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:00:26 11 Team Argos-Shimano 0:00:30 12 Ag2R La Mondiale 0:00:33 13 Team Netapp-Endura 14 Iam Cycling 0:00:37 15 Vacansoleil-DCM 0:00:51 16 Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 0:00:59 17 Champion System 0:01:16 18 Japan 0:01:48

General classification after stage 2 # Rider Name (Country) Team Result 1 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 3:44:44 2 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:00:06 3 Adam Blythe (GBr) BMC Racing Team 0:00:10 4 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team 5 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team 6 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling 0:00:11 7 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling 0:00:15 8 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Procycling 9 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling 10 Luke Rowe (GBr) Sky Procycling 11 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 0:00:20 12 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 13 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 14 Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack Leopard 0:00:21 15 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha 0:00:23 16 Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha 0:00:25 17 Alexander Porsev (Rus) Katusha 18 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:27 19 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ 0:00:33 20 Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) Orica-GreenEdge 21 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica-GreenEdge 22 Baden Cooke (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 23 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:00:34 24 Tiziano Dall’Antonia (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 25 Matti Breschel (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:00:36 26 Jonas Aaen Jorgensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 27 Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling 28 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 0:00:38 29 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team 30 Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ 0:00:39 31 Tom Veelers (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 0:00:40 32 Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 33 Martin Elmiger (Swi) IAM Cycling 0:00:41 34 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 35 Yoann Offredo (Fra) FDJ 0:00:42 36 Markel Irizar (Spa) RadioShack Leopard 37 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:00:43 38 Roger Kluge (Ger) Team NetApp-Endura 39 Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Katusha 0:00:46 40 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling 0:00:47 41 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack Leopard 0:00:48 42 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 0:00:52 43 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 0:00:53 44 Paul Voss (Ger) Team NetApp-Endura 0:00:54 45 Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ 46 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:00:57 47 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) IAM Cycling 0:00:58 48 Kenny Robert Van Hummel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:01:01 49 Rob Ruijgh (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 50 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 51 Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 52 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:01:04 53 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Katusha 0:01:07 54 Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 0:01:08 55 Zakkari Dempster (Aus) Team NetApp-Endura 0:01:16 56 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:01:18 57 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack Leopard 0:01:23 58 Steve Chainel (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:01:24 59 Gregory Rast (Swi) RadioShack Leopard 0:01:32 60 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:01:34 61 Matt Brammeier (Irl) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:01:37 62 Murilo Antoniobil Fischer (Bra) FDJ 0:01:45 63 Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Team NetApp-Endura 0:01:46 64 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 0:02:02 65 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) IAM Cycling 0:02:20 66 Daniel Schorn (Aut) Team NetApp-Endura 0:02:24 67 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 68 Gabriel Rasch (Nor) Sky Procycling 0:02:52 69 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 0:03:09 70 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 71 Pirmin Lang (Swi) IAM Cycling 0:03:10 72 Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Katusha 0:04:07 73 Stijn Devolder (Bel) RadioShack Leopard 0:16:23 74 Nelson Santos Oliveira (Por) RadioShack Leopard 75 Vladimir Isaichev (Rus) Katusha 0:16:27 76 Evan Huffman (USA) Astana Pro Team 0:16:29 77 Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 78 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 79 Soupe Geoffrey (Fra) FDJ 0:16:35 80 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ 81 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Orica-GreenEdge 82 Jens Mouris (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge 83 Kristijan Koren (Slo) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:16:36 84 Daniele Ratto (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 85 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 86 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:16:38 87 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:16:42 88 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team Argos-Shimano 89 Lawrence Warbasse (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:16:44 90 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Cannondale Pro Cycling 91 Markus Eichler (Ger) Team NetApp-Endura 0:16:45 92 Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) Ag2R La Mondiale 93 Blaz Jarc (Slo) Team NetApp-Endura 94 Hugo Houle (Can) Ag2R La Mondiale 95 Stephen Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team 96 Davide Appollonio (Ita) Ag2R La Mondiale 97 Andrea Guardini (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:16:46 98 Kristof Goddaert (Bel) IAM Cycling 0:16:49 99 Marco Bandiera (Ita) IAM Cycling 100 Yannick Eijssen (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:16:51 101 Russell Downing (GBr) Team NetApp-Endura 0:16:54 102 Barry Markus (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:17:03 103 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 104 Marco Canola (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 0:17:11 105 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 106 Marco Coledan (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 107 Filippo Fortin (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 108 Andrea Di Corrado (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 109 Wesley Kreder (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 110 Chan Jae Jang (Kor) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:17:28 111 Matthias Friedemann (Ger) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 112 Bobbie Traksel (Ned) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 113 Chun Kai Feng (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 114 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 0:17:34 115 Hayden Roulston (NZl) RadioShack Leopard 0:17:38 116 Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 117 Wouter Mol (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:17:45 118 David Boucher (Fra) FDJ 0:17:47 119 Allan Davis (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 0:17:53 120 Brett Daniel Lancaster (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 121 Yusuke Hatanaka (Jpn) Japan 0:18:00 122 Miyataka Shimizu (Jpn) Japan 123 Junya Sano (Jpn) Japan 124 Kazuhiro Mori (Jpn) Japan 125 Taiji Nishitani (Jpn) Japan 126 Arman Kamyshev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:18:05 127 Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha 0:18:09 128 Julien Berard (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:18:14 129 Valentin Iglinskiy (Kaz) Ag2R La Mondiale 130 Yuzuru Suzuki (Jpn) Japan 0:18:15 131 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling 0:18:33 132 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:18:38 133 Kohei Uchima (Jpn) Japan 0:18:46 134 Fumeaux Jonathan (Swi) IAM Cycling 0:18:55 135 Muhamad Adiq Husainie Othman (Mas) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:19:00 136 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:19:05 137 Gang Xu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:19:12 138 Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:19:13 139 Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 140 Marko Kump (Slo) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 141 Christian Delle Stelle (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 0:19:24

Points classification # Rider Name (Country) Team Result 1 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 15 pts 2 Martin Elmiger (Swi) IAM Cycling 12 3 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling 11 4 Gregory Rast (Swi) RadioShack Leopard 9 5 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team 7 6 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 6 7 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 5 8 Matti Breschel (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 4 9 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha 2 10 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 2 11 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling 2 12 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ 1

Best young rider classification # Rider Name (Country) Team Result 1 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team 3:44:50 2 Adam Blythe (GBr) BMC Racing Team 0:00:04 3 Luke Rowe (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:00:09 4 Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack Leopard 0:00:15 5 Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha 0:00:19 6 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica-GreenEdge 0:00:27 7 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:00:28 8 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 0:00:32 9 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 0:00:47 10 Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ 0:00:48 11 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 0:01:56 12 Daniel Schorn (Aut) Team NetApp-Endura 0:02:18 13 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 0:03:03 14 Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Katusha 0:04:01 15 Nelson Santos Oliveira (Por) RadioShack Leopard 0:16:17 16 Evan Huffman (USA) Astana Pro Team 0:16:23 17 Soupe Geoffrey (Fra) FDJ 0:16:29 18 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ 19 Daniele Ratto (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:16:30 20 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team Argos-Shimano 0:16:36 21 Lawrence Warbasse (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:16:38 22 Blaz Jarc (Slo) Team NetApp-Endura 0:16:39 23 Hugo Houle (Can) Ag2R La Mondiale 24 Davide Appollonio (Ita) Ag2R La Mondiale 25 Andrea Guardini (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:16:40 26 Yannick Eijssen (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:16:45 27 Barry Markus (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:16:57 28 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 29 Marco Canola (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 0:17:05 30 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 31 Marco Coledan (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 32 Filippo Fortin (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 33 Andrea Di Corrado (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 34 Wesley Kreder (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 35 Chan Jae Jang (Kor) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:17:22 36 Chun Kai Feng (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 37 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 0:17:28 38 Arman Kamyshev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:17:59 39 Kohei Uchima (Jpn) Japan 0:18:40 40 Fumeaux Jonathan (Swi) IAM Cycling 0:18:49 41 Muhamad Adiq Husainie Othman (Mas) Champion System Pro Cycling Team 0:18:54 42 Guillaume Boivin (Can) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:18:59 43 Marko Kump (Slo) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:19:07 44 Christian Delle Stelle (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 0:19:18