Belgium, Italy, Great Britain, Australia, Norway, Denmark train in the heat for first time
Image 1 of 38
The Italian team lead the impromptu training group(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Boonen opted for no sock on his first ride in Doha(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The Australians head up the training pack(Image credit: Sirotti)
Elia Viviani and Filippo Pozzato in Doha(Image credit: Sirotti)
Filippo Pozzato (Italy)(Image credit: Sirotti)
Daniel Oss especially pleased to be reunited with his Italian teammates(Image credit: Sirotti)
The Danish team rides in Doha(Image credit: Sirotti)
The Norwegian team tests the Worlds course(Image credit: Sirotti)
The Norwegian team tests the Worlds course(Image credit: Sirotti)
Mark Cavendish leads Great Britain in its training ride(Image credit: Sirotti)
The Italian and Chinese women check out the Worlds route(Image credit: Sirotti)
The Swedes train in Doha(Image credit: Sirotti)
The Australian team takes its sighting lap in Doha(Image credit: Sirotti)
The Australian team takes its sighting lap in Doha(Image credit: Sirotti)
The German team is riding high on three medals so far in the Worlds(Image credit: Sirotti)
The French team checks out the course in Doha(Image credit: Sirotti)
Daniel Oss and Matteo Trentin are enjoying their warm-up in Doha(Image credit: Sirotti)
Greg van Avermaet and Tom Boonen arrive at their hotel in Doha, Qatar(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The long road straight road in the desert(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The Belgian riders naturally formed an echelon in the wind(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Tom Boonen does a turn on the front with Jens Keukeleire(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
There was little to see out in the desert(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The heat was fierce in the desert(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The riders start in the shadows of the Doha skyscrapers(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Greg van Avermaet does a spell on the front (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The Belgian team headed into the desert to get a taste of the heat and wind(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Greg van Avermaet leaves the underground garage(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The Australia team leads the group through the finish area (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Mark Cavendish in Great Britain colours(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Elia Viviani shows of his special gold Pinarello (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The Italian team for Sunday's elite men's road race(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Filippo Pozzato is first reserve for the Italian team(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
There were several groups out training in the heat on Wednesday(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The Italian women's team also checked out the finish(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
France rides through the finish(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The Belgian riders get ready to roll (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Belgium's Iljo Keisse arrives at the team hotel on Doha before the Worlds road race(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Jasper Stuyven, Nikolas Maes, Jens Debusschere, Iljo Keisse, Jens Keukeleire and Olivier Naessen crowd into a lift in Belgium's hotel in Doha.(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Hotels in Doha are starting to fill as teams have begun arriving in Qatar in preparation for this weekend's elite men's and women's road races at the Road World Championships
The Belgians men’s squad lead by Greg van Avermaet and Tom Boonen checked into their hotel on Tuesday evening, with the Belgian media there to greet them and immortalise the moment they collected their room keys.
On Wednesday morning the Belgian team headed out into the desert for their first training ride in the heat and humidity of Qatar as they try to quickly acclimatise to the testing conditions. At the same time other riders from Italy, Great Britain, France and Australia formed a training group that sneaked onto the finishing circuit on the Pearl artificial island before the women’s time trial race for a first look at the finish area.
Mark Cavendish was out with the Great Britain team, while Michael Matthews was part of the Australia team. The Italians stopped to pose for photographs at the pit area of the road circuit, with Elia Viviani and first reserve Filippo Pozzato showing of their special bikes for the world championships.
Following the completion of the time trial events on Wednesday, the road racing begins on Thursday with the under 23 men’s road race. The junior races are on Friday, with the elite women’s road race over 134km on Saturday and the 257km elite men’s race on Sunday.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
