Jos van Emden nearly won the Tour of Qatar time trial, just overtaken by Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) who not only won stage three but took the race lead on Wednesday. The strong Team LottoNL-Jumbo rider was 25 seconds short of the Norwegian over the 11 kilometres that they rode on normal road bikes.

When Jos van Emden finished his race against the clock in Lusail, he had the best time. “His time was very hard to beat,” sports director Jan Boven said. “We immediately knew that he had a chance to win this time trial. It’s a pity that Boasson Hagen beat him, but Jos didn’t have a weak moment in his race. Boasson Hagen’s time is impressive. We’re fed up by this second places because we know from last year that it’s hard to win races.”

“I never consider myself well off, but I thought that I would have a good chance to win this time trial,” van Emden said about his second place. “When I heard that Boasson Hagen was 25 seconds faster, it hurt me. It’s always hard to be dethroned, but it proves that he’s simply the best on the other hand. I delivered a good time trial. The difference between is the power.”

On Thursday, the riders will cover a characteristic Qatari stage. “It’s going to be the longest and toughest day of the race,” Boven added. “We’re going through the desert in the north of the country. The roads are completely unprotected, so we have to be sharp in the wind. We have to be focused to make the first echelon. Today, we saw that everyone has a high level, so that’s a good sign.”