Greig Leach

In all of the drama of the peloton splitting apart in the crosswinds out on the desert. Along with trying to figure out who was in what group, plus trying to decide if an of those not in the first group would ever see the front of the race again, it seems everyone forgot about the original break away. The foursome of Anas Ait El Abdia (Morocco), Ryan Roth (Canada), Natnael Berhane (Eritrea) and Nick Dougall (South Africa) from the original break managed to hang onto the wheels of the very elite group being driven by the Belgium team. Ait El Abdia looked over to his team car seemingly saying, "Can you believe I am still here!?" Not to cast doubts on the entire Moroccan cycling community, but for him and the others to be able to hold the wheels of this group was a huge accomplishment. Behind him, some very respected racers were continuing to lose more and more time as they did the five laps of The Pearl circuit.