Tour of Qatar Stage 2: Brent Bookwalter extends overall lead as BMC Racing win TTT

Brent Bookwalter has stretched his lead in the overall standings at the Tour of Qatar to 6 seconds after his BMC Racing team, the last team on the course, put in the quickest time in the Stage 2 Team Time Trial on Al Rufaa Street. BMC riders occupy the first five places on GC, with Bookwalter's team mate and fellow American Tyler Phinney lying second, and Great Britain's Adam Blythe now sitting third.

Team Sky, who as penultimate team out on the 14 kilometre course had set what had been the quickest time, beaten by five seconds by the 16 minutes 7 seconds posted by BMC, round out the rest of the top ten overall. 

Their best placed rider is Bernie Eisel, fourth on yesterday's opening stage, who is 11 seconds off the lead. He's followed, in order, by Edvald Boasson Hagen, Geriant Thomas, Mat Hayman and Luke Rowe, all a quarter of a minute behind Bookwalter.

Until those final two teams came out on the course, Omega Pharma-Quick Step - winners of the Team Time Trial at the World Championships in the Netherlands in September - had set the fastest time, with Mark Cavendish in the group that crossed the line to finish in 16 minutes 17 seconds. Their time would be 10 seconds shy of the the winning mark set by BMC, however.

Tour of Qatar Stage 2 TTT Result  
  
1  BMC Racing                                16' 07"  
2  Sky                                        +   5”  
3  Omega Pharma-QuickStep                     +  10”  
4  RadioShack-Leopard                         +  11”  
5  Katusha                                    +  15”  
6  Astana                                     +  17”  
7  FDJ                                        +  23”  
8  Orica-GreenEdge                            +  23”  
9  Cannondale                                 +  24”  
10 Saxo-Tinkoff                               +  26”  
11 Argos Shimano                              +  30”  
12 Ag2r                                       +  33”  
13 NetApp-Endura                              +  33”  
14 IAM Cycling                                +  37”  
15 Vacansoleil-DCM                            +  51”  
16 Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox                  +  59”  
17 Champion System                        +  01’ 16”  
18 Japan                                  +  01’ 48”  
  
Overall Standings after Stage 2  
  
1  BOOKWALTER Brent     BMC RACING TEAM   3h 44' 44"
2  PHINNEY Taylor       BMC RACING TEAM   +  00' 06"
3  BLYTHE Adam          BMC RACING TEAM   +  00' 10"
4  VAN AVERMAET Greg    BMC RACING TEAM   +  00' 10"
5  SCHÄR Michael        BMC RACING TEAM   +  00' 10"
6  EISEL Bernhard       SKY PROCYCLING    +  00' 11"
7  BOASSON HAGEN Edvald SKY PROCYCLING    +  00' 15"
8  THOMAS Geraint       SKY PROCYCLING    +  00' 15"
9  HAYMAN Mathew        SKY PROCYCLING    +  00' 15"
10 ROWE Luke            SKY PROCYCLING    +  00' 15"