L'ÉDITO

For the state of Qatar, 2006 will be a major sporting year with, in December, the organisation of the 15th Asian games but also, in January, the 5th edition of the Tour of Qatar, following hard on the heels of the Doha International Grand Prix, two cycling competitions which bring together most of the world’s leading professional teams.
Cycling has thus got into the habit of setting the season’s wheels turning on Qatar’s sun-drenched roads ever since the National Olympic Committee and the Cycling Federation teamed up with legendary Belgian champion Eddy Merckx and the Tour de France organisers to promote cycling against an educational and health backdrop and also with a view to developing tourism through international media coverage of the event.
This year, out of a total of seventeen teams, nine «Pro Tour» teams will be participating. Each team is made up of eight riders from eight different countries. This line-up includes the star Belgian rider, Tom Boonen, wearing the world champion’s rainbow jersey.
By himself alone, this young and talented rider, winner of two stages last year, will attract in his wake a strong contingent of European journalists who will once again be able to appreciate the assets of this dynamic Middle East state for fostering the development of top-flight cycling with its favourable climate at this time of the year, quality of hotel infrastructures, the security ensured by the authorities and the courtesy of our hosts.
Starting and finishing sites are already well-known to riders and their images have now travelled the world: Al Khor, Camel Race Track, Sealine Resort, the Doha Corniche and Khalifa Stadium in particular, so superbly renovated and now an ultra-modern sporting complex. As with previous editions, superb sprints will be on the cards but also unexpected movements within the race, if the often determining factor of wind directon is anything to go by for riders at the appetizer stage of their season but who are aware that the first victories, good for the morale, are often harbingers of others to come.