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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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