Haussler wins again and takes overall lead

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Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Cervelo) took control of the overall lead of the Tour of Qatar with his second consecutive sprint victory on Wednesday.

On a day when the wind once again wreaked havoc on the peloton, Haussler and his teammates expertly handled the conditions and were able to take full advantage when race leader Tom Boonen (Quick Step) punctured and lost touch with the lead echelon 40km from the finish.

After recording a narrow win over Daniel Bennati (Leopard Trek) the previous day, Haussler was a considerably more comfortable winner in Mesaieed. The Australian launched his sprint from behind Mark Renshaw's (HTC-Highroad) and surged past him in the final 50 metres, while Bennati was again frustrated in third place after leading out the sprint. Haussler won so well, he even had time to sit up as he crossed the line to celebrate a perfectly-timed effort.

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"Today was just all about timing," Haussler said afterwards. "The others went pretty early and I was just left with a gap in the sprint."

While Haussler was celebrating, Tom Boonen was left to rue the misfortune of puncturing just as the group of strongmen was about to catch the day's early break. In spite of a valiant attempt to get back on, first alone, and then as part of a sizeable chase group, Boonen was unable to make contact with the Garmin-Cervélo express up front.

Once the gap went above 1:15 with 20km to go, Boonen became resigned to losing his chance of overall victory in the most frustrating of circumstances. He ultimately came home in a group some 3:02 behind and admitted that even if he had bridged the gap, he would not have been competitive in the sprint.

"I realised I had to try and go to the front of the group and lead the chase," Boonen said. "But even if I'd closed the gap, I'd still have been dead at the finish."

Garmin-Cervélo was driving on the front when Boonen punctured and Roger Hammond offered an honest assessment of the situation. "In races like this you can't wait," he explained. "We didn't speed up but then we couldn't wait either."

His thoughts were echoed by Haussler. "It's unfortunate for Tom," he said. "A flat tyre is probably the worst way to lose a yellow jersey."

Renshaw now second overall, Cavendish shows his form

Mark Renshaw moves up to second overall as a result of Boonen's misfortune. The Australian took the second intermediate sprint 30km from home, and his teammate Bernard Eisel was a notable presence on the front of the lead group of 25 riders in the finale, as he attempted to put Renshaw into the overall lead. He shut down Simon Clarke's (Astana) bid for glory in the run-in to the finish and then led out the sprint, but it would prove to be Heinrich Haussler's day.

Haussler enjoys a fierce rivalry with Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) and the Manxman was a notable presence in the select lead group until he lost contact 6km from the line. He explained afterwards that he was simply caught on the back of the echelon at the wrong time and found himself squeezed out. He crossed the line 1:33 behind Haussler.

The state of Cavendish's form in the wake of his prologue crash remains a conundrum. The tough nature of the stage meant that only the very strongest riders in the field were left at the front of race in the finale and Cavendish was among them. But he will nonetheless be disappointed that his positioning saw him slip out of the lead group for the second time in three stages.

Early chaos

While Cavendish came a cropper in the wind in the finale, Fabian Cancellara (Leopard Trek) surprisingly lost contact early on during the stage and ultimately came home in a group that contained over half the peloton, at a massive 32:50 behind Heinrich Haussler.

An early tailwind made for another high speed start on a course made up of three 50km circuits, and the bunch split several times in the opening kilometres. Just as it appeared to be regrouping, the day's main break forged clear into a headwind after covering 36km. The sextet of Andrew Fenn (An Post-Sean Kelly), Alexander Kristoff (BMC) Ronan Van Zandbeek (Skil-Shimano), Tanel Kangert (Astana), Stijn Neirynck (Topsport Vlaanderen) and Russell Downing (Team Sky) opened a huge gap in a short period of time, and led by 12:15 ahead of the first intermediate sprint after 52km.

When the peloton eventually began to pick up the pursuit, there chaotic scenes in the crosswinds behind. Cancellara and Cavendish were among those caught out and while the Swiss would never see the front end of the race again, Cavendish to his credit, managed to make his way up to the leaders.

In a high speed final 50km, the initial six breakaways were caught and soon afterwards, the front group of fifty riders split in two. The scene appeared set for a Haussler-Boonen showdown until the unfortunate Belgian suffered a flat tyre and handed the initiative to Garmin-Cervélo.

While stage winner Haussler naturally took the plaudits, the men in black and blue also had Hammond, Gabriel Rasch and Johan Van Summeren in the front group. They may be 3,000 miles from Flanders, but the classics shadow boxing continues apace.

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