German Thorsten Wilhelms erased a 1-second deficit during the final stage of the Tour of Qatar to take the overall win on Friday. Wilhelms was first across the line in the 123.5km run from Sealine Beach to Doha, posting a winning time of 3:18:22. That was good enough to give the Team Coast rider a 5-second bulge over second-place finisher Damien Nazon in the final standings. Rudi Kemna of the Netherlands was third.

Nazon had entered the day in the lead, but finished ninth in the final stage.

Other notables included Laurent Jalabert, who was 15th on Friday and finished fifth overall, and Jan Ullrich, who was 16th on the final day and 14th overall.

Copyright AFP 2001