February 8/12 14:01 pm - Tour of Qatar: Stage 4
Posted by Editoress on 02/8/12
After one of the most exciting stages in the history of the Tour of Qatar, Tom Boonen captured his 20th win in impressive fashion. The Belgian, assisted by his Omega Pharma Quickstep team, padded his overall leader's Golden Jersey, after managing to close down a Cancellara attempt in the final moments and outsprinting his main rivals. The 31-year-old now has a 31" lead overall. Looking good for a fourth Qatar crown!
With the wind coming from the south-east, the day would be fast and furious for the 124 remaining riders of the Tour of Qatar. A favourable wind on the first 80 kilometres was on the menu of the 147.5km stage before a final circuit north of Qatar. And that probably explained why the riders were eager to be at the front of the pack, just in case.
Indeed, as soon as the first kilometres, the strong teams set a fast pace and several riders were rapidly dropped on a side-wind portion. The pack gathered together again after 30 kilometres. Eventually, two men managed to break away at km 33: Bak (LTB) and Shimizu (BGT). Their lead grew from 20" at km 27 to 4'40 at km 50.
After having covered 52.1kms during the first hour of racing, the gap reached a maximum 7' at km 57. Time had come for team Garmin to take command of the chase and the pack moved closer to the escapees.
At the first intermediate sprint (km 81.5) claimed by Bak ahead of Shimizu, the pack led by Kruopis (GEC), third to the line, remained 5'20 adrift. At km 104, Shimizu was the first to be caught by the peloton while Bak insisted. The Dane was eventually caught by four counter-attacking men, before the pack bunched up together at km 112.
Just before the first passage on the line of the Madinat Al Shamal circuit, 26 strong men powered away including Golden jersey Boonen (OPQ), Farrar (GRM) and Cancellara. They reached the second bonus sprint (km 121), won by Boonen ahead of Farrar and Hunter with a 20" lead over a chasing group including Cavendish (SKY). At the second passage on the line and with one lap to go, the front group could enjoy a 38" advantage. The gap grew to 1'15 with 10kms to go.
Riders such as Farrar and Cooke were then to suffer punctures while Cancellara attacked at the front. Six men eventually moved away for the final sprint to victory. Boonen, in impressive fashion captured his 20th stage success in Qatar, beating Veelers (PRO) and Cancellara to the line. The Belgian naturally keeps his Golden Jersey and increases his overall lead to 31" over Farrar and 34" over Flecha. Boonen keeps the points' classification lead, while Navardauskas recovers the best young rider's White jersey.
Courtesy Tour of Qatar
| Stage 4: Al Thakhira to Madinat Al Shamal, 147.5kms | |
| 1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quickstep Cycling Team | 3:03:14 |
| 2 Tom Veelers (Ned) Project 1T4I | |
| 3 Fabian Cancellara (Sui) Radioshack - Nissan | |
| 4 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Esp) Sky Procycling | all s.t. |
| 5 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quickstep Cycling Team | 0:04 |
| 6 Nikolas Maes (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quickstep Cycling Team | 0:11 |
| 7 Yohan Offredo (Fra) FDJ-Bigmat | 0:14 |
| 8 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling | |
| 9 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Barracuda | both s.t. |
| 10 Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling | 0:36 |
| 11 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin - Barracuda | 0:37 |
| 12 Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) GreenEDGE Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 13 Adam Blythe (GBr) BMC Racing Team | 0:42 |
| 14 Baden Cooke (Aus) GreenEDGE Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 15 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ-Bigmat | 0:54 |
| 16 Gregory Henderson (NZl) Lotto - Belisol Team | |
| 17 Matthias Friedemann (Ger) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | |
| 18 John Degenkolb (Ger) Project 1T4I | |
| 19 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
| 20 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Garmin - Barracuda | |
| 21 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Radioshack - Nissan | |
| 22 Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Omega Pharma - Quickstep Cycling Team | |
| 23 Jonas Vangenechten (Bel) Lotto - Belisol Team | |
| 24 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin - Barracuda | |
| 25 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas - Cannondale | |
| 26 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Farnese Vini | |
| 27 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto - Belisol Team | |
| 28 Robbie McEwen (Aus) GreenEDGE Cycling Team | |
| 29 Koen De Kort (Ned) Project 1T4I | |
| 30 Danilo Wyss (Sui) BMC Racing Team | |
| 31 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling | |
| 32 Allan Davis (Aus) GreenEDGE Cycling Team | |
| 33 Michael Schƒr (Sui) BMC Racing Team | |
| 34 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Radioshack - Nissan | |
| 35 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
| 36 Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team | all s.t. |
| 37 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Project 1T4I | 1:00 |
| 38 Jacob Rathe (USA) Garmin - Barracuda | s.t. |
| 39 Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto - Belisol Team | 1:03 |
| 40 Tom Leezer (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 41 Albert Timmer (Ned) Project 1T4I | 1:05 |
| 42 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quickstep Cycling Team | 1:44 |
| 43 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | 1:45 |
| 44 Klaas Sys (Bel) Bridgestone Anchor | |
| 45 Diego Caccia (Ita) Farnese Vini | |
| 46 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quickstep Cycling Team | |
| 47 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto - Belisol Team | |
| 48 Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Farnese Vini | |
| 49 Mehdi Sohrabi Iran Lotto - Belisol Team | |
| 50 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
| 51 Fumiyuki Beppu Japan GreenEDGE Cycling Team | |
| 52 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha Team | |
| 53 David Boucher (Fra) FDJ-Bigmat | |
| 54 Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
| 55 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | |
| 56 Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) FDJ-Bigmat | |
| 57 Thomas Bertolini (Ita) Farnese Vini | |
| 58 Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Katusha Team | |
| 59 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Katusha Team | |
| 60 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto - Belisol Team | |
| 61 Alan Marangoni (Ita) Liquigas - Cannondale | |
| 62 Murilo Fischer (Bra) Garmin - Barracuda | |
| 63 Jack Bauer (NZl) Garmin - Barracuda | |
| 64 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
| 65 Denis Galimzyanov (Rus) Katusha Team | |
| 66 Rudiger Selig (Ger) Katusha Team | |
| 67 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas - Cannondale | |
| 68 Gregory Rast (Sui) Radioshack - Nissan | |
| 69 Thor Hushovd (Nor) BMC Racing Team | |
| 70 Matthew Brammeier (Irl) Omega Pharma - Quickstep Cycling Team | |
| 71 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas - Cannondale | |
| 72 Davide Appollonio (Ita) Sky Procycling | |
| 73 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Esp) Radioshack - Nissan | |
| 74 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
| 75 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | |
| 76 Joost Posthuma (Ned) Radioshack - Nissan | |
| 77 Jens Mouris (Ned) GreenEDGE Cycling Team | |
| 78 Martin Kohler (Sui) BMC Racing Team | |
| 79 Jai Crawford (Aus) RTS Racing Team | |
| 80 Gabriel Rasch (Nor) FDJ-Bigmat | |
| 81 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Bigmat | |
| 82 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) GreenEDGE Cycling Team | |
| 83 Andrea Guardini (Ita) Farnese Vini | |
| 84 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Farnese Vini | |
| 85 Thomas Lebas (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor | |
| 86 Svein Tuft (Can) GreenEDGE Cycling Team | |
| 87 David McCann (Irl) RTS Racing Team | |
| 88 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
| 89 Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Liquigas - Cannondale | |
| 90 Christian Knees (Ger) Sky Procycling | |
| 91 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Sky Procycling | all all s.t. |
| 92 Roger Kluge (Ger) Project 1T4I | 1:56 |
| 93 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas - Cannondale | 2:01 |
| 94 Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ-Bigmat | 0:54 |
| 95 Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ-Bigmat | 2:35 |
| 96 Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin - Barracuda | 3:05 |
| 97 Roy Curvers (Ned) Project 1T4I | |
| 98 Vladimir Isaychev (Rus) Katusha Team | both s.t. |
| 99 Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha Team | 1:45 |
| 100 Luca Ascani (Ita) Farnese Vini | 4:26 |
| 101 Lee Rodgers (GBr) RTS Racing Team | 6:35 |
| 102 Gang Xu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | 6:38 |
| 103 Blaise Sonnery (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor | |
| 104 Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | |
| 105 Maciek Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas - Cannondale | |
| 106 Ryota Nishizono (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | |
| 107 Mart Ojavee (Est) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | |
| 108 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas - Cannondale | |
| 109 Gatis Smukulis Latvia Katusha Team | |
| 110 Kazuo Inoue (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | |
| 111 Alex Coutts (GBr) RTS Racing Team | |
| 112 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Omega Pharma - Quickstep Cycling Team | |
| 113 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto - Belisol Team | |
| 114 Alexandre Lemair (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor | |
| 115 Miyataka Shimizu (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | |
| 116 Hayoto Yoshida (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | all s.t. |
| 117 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Radioshack - Nissan | 7:53 |
| 118 Cristiano Benenati (Ita) Farnese Vini | |
| 119 Robert Wagner (Ger) Radioshack - Nissan | |
| 120 Domenik Klemme (Ger) Project 1T4I | all s.t. |
| 121 Chin Lung Huang (Tpe) RTS Racing Team | 13:24 |
| 122 Wei Kei Chang (Tpe) RTS Racing Team | |
| 123 Sergey Kudentsov (Rus) RTS Racing Team | both s.t. |
| DNF Michael Barry (Can) Sky Procycling | |
| GC | |
| 1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quickstep Cycling Team | 9:50:50 |
| 2 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Barracuda | at 0:31 |
| 3 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Esp) Sky Procycling | 0:34 |
| 4 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quickstep Cycling Team | 0:36 |
| 5 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling | 0:45 |
| 6 Tom Veelers (Ned) Project 1T4I | 1:00 |
| 7 Fabian Cancellara (Sui) Radioshack - Nissan | 1:06 |
| 8 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin - Barracuda | 1:09 |
| 9 Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) GreenEDGE Cycling Team | 1:10 |
| 10 Adam Blythe (GBr) BMC Racing Team | 1:14 |
| 11 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling | 1:15 |
| 12 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Garmin - Barracuda | 1:19 |
| 13 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin - Barracuda | s.t. |
| 14 Baden Cooke (Aus) GreenEDGE Cycling Team | 1:20 |
| 15 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team | 1:32 |
| 16 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Radioshack - Nissan | 1:33 |
| 17 John Degenkolb (Ger) Project 1T4I | 1:40 |
| 18 Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto - Belisol Team | 1:45 |
| 19 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Project 1T4I | 2:02 |
| 20 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Katusha Team | 2:15 |
| 21 Rudiger Selig (Ger) Katusha Team | 2:16 |
| 22 Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quickstep Cycling Team | 2:17 |
| 23 Matthias Friedemann (Ger) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | 2:19 |
| 24 Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Katusha Team | s.t. |
| 25 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team | 2:23 |
| 26 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank Cycling Team | 2:27 |
| 27 Yohan Offredo (Fra) FDJ-Bigmat | 2:28 |
| 28 David Boucher (Fra) FDJ-Bigmat | 2:30 |
| 29 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | 2:34 |
| 30 Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling | 2:47 |
| 31 Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Omega Pharma - Quickstep Cycling Team | 2:52 |
| 32 Svein Tuft (Can) GreenEDGE Cycling Team | 2:55 |
| 33 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) GreenEDGE Cycling Team | s.t. |
| 34 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas - Cannondale | 2:58 |
| 35 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Radioshack - Nissan | 2:59 |
| 36 Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team | 3:01 |
| 37 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto - Belisol Team | 3:02 |
| 38 Gregory Henderson (NZl) Lotto - Belisol Team | s.t. |
| 39 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ-Bigmat | 3:08 |
| 40 Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ-Bigmat | s.t. |
| 41 Koen De Kort (Ned) Project 1T4I | 3:09 |
| 42 Tom Leezer (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | 3:11 |
| 43 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Farnese Vini | 3:16 |
| 44 Robbie McEwen (Aus) GreenEDGE Cycling Team | 3:19 |
| 45 Albert Timmer (Ned) Project 1T4I | 3:20 |
| 46 Nikolas Maes (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quickstep Cycling Team | 3:27 |
| 47 Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin - Barracuda | 3:29 |
| 48 Murilo Fischer (Bra) Garmin - Barracuda | 3:36 |
| 49 Davide Appollonio (Ita) Sky Procycling | 3:43 |
| 50 Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha Team | |
| 51 Matthew Brammeier (Irl) Omega Pharma - Quickstep Cycling Team | both s.t. |
| 52 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha Team | 3:45 |
| 53 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas - Cannondale | |
| 54 Christian Knees (Ger) Sky Procycling | both s.t. |
| 55 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas - Cannondale | 3:49 |
| 56 Alan Marangoni (Ita) Liquigas - Cannondale | s.t. |
| 57 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto - Belisol Team | 3:50 |
| 58 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Esp) Radioshack - Nissan | s.t. |
| 59 Fumiyuki Beppu Japan GreenEDGE Cycling Team | 3:52 |
| 60 Martin Kohler (Sui) BMC Racing Team | |
| 61 Jens Mouris (Ned) GreenEDGE Cycling Team | both s.t. |
| 62 Danilo Wyss (Sui) BMC Racing Team | 3:53 |
| 63 Michael Schƒr (Sui) BMC Racing Team | |
| 64 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team | both s.t. |
| 65 Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) FDJ-Bigmat | 3:59 |
| 66 Gabriel Rasch (Nor) FDJ-Bigmat | |
| 67 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Bigmat | both s.t. |
| 68 Allan Davis (Aus) GreenEDGE Cycling Team | 4:05 |
| 69 Andrea Guardini (Ita) Farnese Vini | 4:07 |
| 70 Diego Caccia (Ita) Farnese Vini | s.t. |
| 71 Mehdi Sohrabi Iran Lotto - Belisol Team | 4:14 |
| 72 Jack Bauer (NZl) Garmin - Barracuda | 4:20 |
| 73 Roger Kluge (Ger) Project 1T4I | 4:21 |
| 74 Thomas Bertolini (Ita) Farnese Vini | 4:28 |
| 75 Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Farnese Vini | 4:30 |
| 76 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas - Cannondale | 4:33 |
| 77 Jacob Rathe (USA) Garmin - Barracuda | 4:36 |
| 78 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | 4:39 |
| 79 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
| 80 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | both s.t. |
| 81 Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Liquigas - Cannondale | 4:44 |
| 82 Thomas Lebas (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor | 4:47 |
| 83 Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ-Bigmat | 4:49 |
| 84 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Farnese Vini | 4:54 |
| 85 Jonas Vangenechten (Bel) Lotto - Belisol Team | 5:05 |
| 86 Vladimir Isaychev (Rus) Katusha Team | s.t. |
| 87 David McCann (Irl) RTS Racing Team | 5:10 |
| 88 Roy Curvers (Ned) Project 1T4I | 5:22 |
| 89 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Sky Procycling | 5:23 |
| 90 Gregory Rast (Sui) Radioshack - Nissan | 5:28 |
| 91 Joost Posthuma (Ned) Radioshack - Nissan | 5:29 |
| 92 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma - Quickstep Cycling Team | 5:44 |
| 93 Denis Galimzyanov (Rus) Katusha Team | 6:42 |
| 94 Luca Ascani (Ita) Farnese Vini | 6:48 |
| 95 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto - Belisol Team | 7:17 |
| 96 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto - Belisol Team | 7:29 |
| 97 Mart Ojavee (Est) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | 8:12 |
| 98 Alexandre Lemair (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor | 8:20 |
| 99 Robert Wagner (Ger) Radioshack - Nissan | 8:29 |
| 100 Gatis Smukulis Latvia Katusha Team | 8:38 |
| 101 Maciek Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas - Cannondale | 8:42 |
| 102 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas - Cannondale | s.t. |
| 103 Miyataka Shimizu (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | 9:38 |
| 104 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Radioshack - Nissan | 11:37 |
| 105 Domenik Klemme (Ger) Project 1T4I | 11:43 |
| 106 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team | 12:29 |
| 107 Cristiano Benenati (Ita) Farnese Vini | 12:33 |
| 108 Thor Hushovd (Nor) BMC Racing Team | 13:20 |
| 109 Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | 13:21 |
| 110 Jai Crawford (Aus) RTS Racing Team | 14:38 |
| 111 Klaas Sys (Bel) Bridgestone Anchor | 16:10 |
| 112 Blaise Sonnery (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor | 19:08 |
| 113 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Omega Pharma - Quickstep Cycling Team | 19:22 |
| 114 Lee Rodgers (GBr) RTS Racing Team | 19:28 |
| 115 Alex Coutts (GBr) RTS Racing Team | 19:31 |
| 116 Kazuo Inoue (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | 20:26 |
| 117 Hayoto Yoshida (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | 20:57 |
| 118 Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | 22:00 |
| 119 Ryota Nishizono (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | 22:02 |
| 120 Gang Xu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team | 24:43 |
| 121 Chin Lung Huang (Tpe) RTS Racing Team | 29:35 |
| 122 Wei Kei Chang (Tpe) RTS Racing Team | 40:13 |
| 123 Sergey Kudentsov (Rus) RTS Racing Team | 40:28 |
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