• There were plenty of splits in the bunch during the day on stage five in Qatar
  • 154 kilometres lay ahead of the riders on the final big test of the race
  • Sports Director Servais Knaven chaired the team meeting ahead of the stage
  • Ian Stannard was on hydration duty
  • Mark Cavendish began the day with a two-second race lead
  • Stijn Devolder was among the casualties of the day, with Mathew Hayman a non-starter for Team Sky
  • Edvald Boasson Hagen had to fight his way back through the echelons
  • Chris Sutton gets a new wheel as the desert took its toll on the peloton
  • Gabriel Rasch strings things out
  • It was tough going at the back of the pack
  • Bernhard Eisel claimed second and two seconds at the final intermediate sprint behind Cavendish...
  • ...And took the opportunity to hit out in a brief three-man attack
  • The group of Eisel, Taylor Phinney and Niki Terpstra held a 30-second gap but was caught with 14km to go
  • The team would put their weight behind Luke Rowe for the sprint
  • Eisel now sits fifth after his exploits
  • At the finish Cavendish made it three from three
  • Rowe was nestled in behind and took a strong fifth
  • The Manxman pushed his lead out to 15 seconds with one stage to go

Tour of Qatar stage five gallery

There were plenty of splits in the bunch during the day on stage five in Qatar