Cavendish roars to victory at Al Khor Corniche
Boonen retains overall lead in Qatar
Great Britain’s Mark Cavendish (Team Sky) sprinted to victory in the penultimate stage of the 2012 Tour of Qatar on Thursday, using his positional instincts and the help of his teammates to make a decisive dash for the line in a crowded bunch finish.
It was Cavendish’s second victory this week, having won stage three on Tuesday, and it more than made up for the disappointment of yesterday when he trailed home in 31st place. Seven of the remaining nine top 10 spots were taken by young riders, with Liquigas-Canondale duo Daniel Oss and Peter Sagan claiming the remaining podium spots.
Cavendish moves up to seventh in the GC with one stage to go but remains more than a minute adrift of Belgium’s Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quick Step), who retained the golden jersey by a margin of 31 seconds from Garmin-Barracuda’s Taylor Farrar despite his worst finish (13th) of the week.
“I’m really happy to have won," Cavendish said. "It’s my second stage win here this week, and my team did a great job protecting me and keeping me up there for the final push. It’s a strong team that wants to do well, wants to win the sprints and the classics. It’s a team that can ride well in the wind and in the final, so it’s really good for us.”
After two wins and two second places in the four previous stages, Boonen was upstaged today but stayed close enough to consolidate his GC lead over Farrar, who was one place behind the Belgian in 14th place.
“I told the guys today that we could control the stage as a team,” Boonen said. “Over the last few days we have really been helped by Garmin and so we hadn’t expended too much energy. Today I wanted to be really comfortable at the head of the peloton.
“Everybody was very fresh in the final so it made for a very hectic finish. This finish line has been good to me and it has been bad to me in the past. There are seven kinks, and you have to be in the correct position. I was almost getting to the front but got blocked on the left side. But the most important thing for today was to consolidate the golden jersey for tomorrow and preserve the good work we have done this week.”
Stage five started just after noon at the Camel Race Track in the arid and dusty interior of the country, and the riders were greeted by dozens of camels as they made their last minute preparations. Aided by a tailwind, the riders sped through more than 52kms in the first hour of racing. A breakaway group of five riders opened up a sizable gap of 2:40 approaching the first intermediate sprint, which was won by Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Katusha) ahead of Thomas Bertolini (Farense Vini-Selle Italia) and Maciej Bodnar (Liquigas-Canondale).
The five riders were still clear at the second sprint, which came at the 124km mark and was won by RadioShack Nissan’s Robert Wagner. In the last 10 kilometres, the peloton closed together and the stage was set for a bunch sprint at the end of the 160km stage, which is the longest of the race.
Boonen moved to the inside menacingly but found his momentum checked at a critical stage, and as all eyes were focussed on the race leader Cavendish, who swept clear 200 metres from the finish and held his arms aloft triumphantly in his trademark celebration.
The stage was marred by several crashes, the worst of which came just before the riders turned onto north road. It resulted in a broken collarbone for Filippo Pozzato (Farense Vini-Selle Italia) as several other riders, including Thor Hushovd (BMC), ended up on the tarmac.
“The last few kilometres were very hectic and everyone was nervous,” Cavendish said. “There was a bit of wind but not enough to break us up so there was a big peloton left at the finish and everybody fancied their chances. It was very chaotic, and there were a few crashes and I hope that nobody is hurt from them."
The 11th Tour of Qatar concludes tomorrow after the 120km sixth stage from the Sealine Beach Resort to the Doha Corniche. It appears that only a crash, and injury or a major mechanical failure can stop Boonen from securing a fourth win in the GC. But the best young rider's jersey is still very much up for grabs, with just five seconds separating current holder Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin-Barracuda) and Adam Blythe (BMC).
1 | Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling | 3:30:40 |
2 | Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
3 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
4 | John Degenkolb (Ger) Project 1t4i | |
5 | Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Katusha | |
6 | Allan Davis (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
7 | Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ-BigMat | |
8 | Andrea Guardini (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | |
9 | Denis Galimzyanov (Rus) Katusha | |
10 | Gregory Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team | |
11 | Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank | |
12 | Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team | |
13 | Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep | |
14 | Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Barracuda | |
15 | Aaron Kemps (Aus) Champion System | |
16 | Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha | |
17 | Gregory Rast (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan | |
18 | Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Barracuda | |
19 | Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack-Nissan | |
20 | Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
21 | Roy Curvers (Ned) Project 1t4i | |
22 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack-Nissan | |
23 | Tom Veelers (Ned) Project 1t4i | |
24 | Adam Blythe (GBr) BMC Racing Team | |
25 | Albert Timmer (Ned) Project 1t4i | |
26 | Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan | |
27 | Jens Mouris (Ned) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
28 | Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ-BigMat | |
29 | Mehdi Sohrabi (IRI) Lotto Belisol Team | |
30 | Mickaël Delage (Fra) FDJ-BigMat | |
31 | Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) FDJ-BigMat | |
32 | Baden Cooke (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
33 | Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
34 | Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling | |
35 | Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
36 | Christian Benenati (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | |
37 | David Boucher (Fra) FDJ-BigMat | |
38 | Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
39 | Yoann Offredo (Fra) FDJ-BigMat | |
40 | Matthias Friedemann (Ger) Champion System | |
41 | Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin-Barracuda | |
42 | Koen De Kort (Ned) Project 1t4i | |
43 | Davide Appollonio (Ita) Sky Procycling | |
44 | Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
45 | Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha | |
46 | Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Sky Procycling | |
47 | Thor Hushovd (Nor) BMC Racing Team | |
48 | Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
49 | David McCann (Irl) RTS Racing Team | |
50 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
51 | Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
52 | Gabriel Rasch (Nor) FDJ-BigMat | |
53 | Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha | |
54 | Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | |
55 | Klaas Lodewijck (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
56 | Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | |
57 | Luca Ascani (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | |
58 | Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin-Barracuda | |
59 | Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
60 | Markel Irizar (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan | |
61 | Martin Kohler (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
62 | Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling | |
63 | Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | |
64 | Wei Kei Chang (Tpe) RTS Racing Team | |
65 | Lars Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol Team | |
66 | Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
67 | Svein Tuft (Can) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
68 | Joss Van Emden (Ned) Rabobank | |
69 | Alan Marangoni (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
70 | Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
71 | Kazuo Inoue (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | |
72 | Mart Ojavee (Est) Champion System | |
73 | Roger Kluge (Ger) Project 1t4i | |
74 | Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack-Nissan | |
75 | Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | |
76 | Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team | |
77 | Vladimir Isaychev (Rus) Katusha | |
78 | Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
79 | Murilo Antoniobil Fischer (Bra) Garmin-Barracuda | |
80 | Nikolas Maes (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
81 | Christian Knees (Ger) Sky Procycling | 0:00:15 |
82 | Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank | 0:00:18 |
83 | Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-BigMat | 0:00:22 |
84 | Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Project 1t4i | 0:00:25 |
85 | Jacob Rathe (USA) Garmin-Barracuda | 0:00:27 |
86 | Gang Xu (Chn) Champion System | 0:00:29 |
87 | Matt Brammeier (Irl) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 0:00:33 |
88 | Jack Bauer (NZl) Garmin-Barracuda | |
89 | Thomas Leezer (Ned) Rabobank | |
90 | Jérémy Hunt (GBr) Sky Procycling | |
91 | Robbie McEwen (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 0:00:37 |
92 | Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank | |
93 | Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin-Barracuda | |
94 | Diego Caccia (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 0:00:39 |
95 | Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | 0:01:01 |
96 | Alexandre Lemair (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor | 0:01:30 |
97 | Thomas Lebas (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor | |
98 | Miyataka Shimizu (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | |
99 | Joost Posthuma (Ned) RadioShack-Nissan | |
100 | Hayato Yoshida (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | |
101 | Lee Rodgers (GBr) RTS Racing Team | |
102 | Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System | |
103 | Jai Crawford (Aus) RTS Racing Team | |
104 | Alex Coutts (GBr) RTS Racing Team | |
105 | Klaas Sys (Bel) Bridgestone Anchor | |
106 | Chin-Lung Huang (Tpe) RTS Racing Team | |
107 | Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank | 0:01:52 |
108 | Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank | |
109 | Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 0:01:58 |
110 | Ryota Nishizono (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | 0:02:58 |
111 | Thomas Bertolini (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 0:03:05 |
112 | Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
113 | Dominic Klemme (Ger) Project 1t4i | 0:04:19 |
114 | Robert Wagner (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan | |
115 | Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha | |
116 | Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
117 | Sergey Kudentsov (Rus) RTS Racing Team | |
118 | Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
119 | Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Katusha | 0:05:33 |
DNS | Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
DNS | Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Champion System | |
DNF | Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | |
DNF | Blaise Sonnery (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor |
1 | Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha | 3 | pts |
2 | Thomas Bertolini (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 2 | |
3 | Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale | 1 |
1 | Robert Wagner (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan | 3 | pts |
2 | Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha | 2 | |
3 | Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale | 1 |
1 | Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling | 15 | pts |
2 | Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 12 | |
3 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale | 9 | |
4 | John Degenkolb (Ger) Project 1t4i | 7 | |
5 | Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Katusha | 6 | |
6 | Allan Davis (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 5 | |
7 | Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ-BigMat | 4 | |
8 | Andrea Guardini (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 3 | |
9 | Denis Galimzyanov (Rus) Katusha | 2 | |
10 | Gregory Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team | 1 |
1 | Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 3:30:40 |
2 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
3 | John Degenkolb (Ger) Project 1t4i | |
4 | Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Katusha | |
5 | Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ-BigMat | |
6 | Andrea Guardini (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | |
7 | Denis Galimzyanov (Rus) Katusha | |
8 | Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha | |
9 | Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Barracuda | |
10 | Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack-Nissan | |
11 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack-Nissan | |
12 | Adam Blythe (GBr) BMC Racing Team | |
13 | Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) FDJ-BigMat | |
14 | Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling | |
15 | Davide Appollonio (Ita) Sky Procycling | |
16 | Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha | |
17 | Klaas Lodewijck (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
18 | Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
19 | Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Project 1t4i | 0:00:25 |
20 | Jacob Rathe (USA) Garmin-Barracuda | 0:00:27 |
21 | Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | 0:01:01 |
22 | Alexandre Lemair (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor | 0:01:30 |
23 | Hayato Yoshida (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | |
24 | Chin-Lung Huang (Tpe) RTS Racing Team | |
25 | Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank | 0:01:52 |
26 | Ryota Nishizono (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | 0:02:58 |
27 | Thomas Bertolini (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 0:03:05 |
28 | Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
29 | Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Katusha | 0:05:33 |
1 | Katusha Team | 10:32:00 |
2 | Liquigas-Cannondale | |
3 | Project 1t4i | |
4 | Lotto-Belisol Team | |
5 | GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
6 | RadioShack-Nissan | |
7 | FDJ-Bigmat | |
8 | Garmin - Barracuda | |
9 | Sky Procycling | |
10 | Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | |
11 | Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
12 | BMC Racing Team | |
13 | Champion System | |
14 | RTS Racing Team | |
15 | Rabobank Cycling Team | 0:00:18 |
16 | Bridgestone Anchor | 0:03:00 |
1 | Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep | 13:21:30 |
2 | Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Barracuda | 0:00:31 |
3 | Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Sky Procycling | 0:00:34 |
4 | Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 0:00:36 |
5 | Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling | 0:00:45 |
6 | Tom Veelers (Ned) Project 1t4i | 0:01:00 |
7 | Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling | 0:01:05 |
8 | Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan | 0:01:06 |
9 | Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Barracuda | 0:01:09 |
10 | Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 0:01:10 |
11 | Adam Blythe (GBr) BMC Racing Team | 0:01:14 |
12 | Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin-Barracuda | 0:01:19 |
13 | Baden Cooke (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 0:01:20 |
14 | Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank | 0:01:32 |
15 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack-Nissan | 0:01:33 |
16 | John Degenkolb (Ger) Project 1t4i | 0:01:40 |
17 | Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | 0:01:45 |
18 | Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin-Barracuda | 0:01:56 |
19 | Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha | 0:02:15 |
20 | Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Katusha | 0:02:16 |
21 | Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 0:02:17 |
22 | Matthias Friedemann (Ger) Champion System | 0:02:19 |
23 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team | 0:02:23 |
24 | Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Project 1t4i | 0:02:27 |
25 | Yoann Offredo (Fra) FDJ-BigMat | 0:02:28 |
26 | David Boucher (Fra) FDJ-BigMat | 0:02:30 |
27 | Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank | 0:02:45 |
28 | Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling | 0:02:47 |
29 | Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:02:52 |
30 | Svein Tuft (Can) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 0:02:55 |
31 | Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack-Nissan | 0:02:59 |
32 | Klaas Lodewijck (Bel) BMC Racing Team | 0:03:01 |
33 | Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team | 0:03:02 |
34 | Gregory Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team | |
35 | Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ-BigMat | 0:03:08 |
36 | Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ-BigMat | |
37 | Koen De Kort (Ned) Project 1t4i | 0:03:09 |
38 | Albert Timmer (Ned) Project 1t4i | 0:03:20 |
39 | Nikolas Maes (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 0:03:27 |
40 | Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin-Barracuda | 0:03:29 |
41 | Murilo Antoniobil Fischer (Bra) Garmin-Barracuda | 0:03:36 |
42 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:03:41 |
43 | Davide Appollonio (Ita) Sky Procycling | 0:03:43 |
44 | Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha | |
45 | Thomas Leezer (Ned) Rabobank | 0:03:44 |
46 | Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha | 0:03:45 |
47 | Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:03:49 |
48 | Alan Marangoni (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
49 | Lars Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol Team | 0:03:50 |
50 | Markel Irizar (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan | |
51 | Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 0:03:52 |
52 | Jens Mouris (Ned) GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
53 | Martin Kohler (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
54 | Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team | 0:03:53 |
55 | Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
56 | Robbie McEwen (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 0:03:56 |
57 | Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) FDJ-BigMat | 0:03:59 |
58 | Gabriel Rasch (Nor) FDJ-BigMat | |
59 | Christian Knees (Ger) Sky Procycling | 0:04:00 |
60 | Allan Davis (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 0:04:05 |
61 | Andrea Guardini (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 0:04:07 |
62 | Mehdi Sohrabi (IRI) Lotto Belisol Team | 0:04:14 |
63 | Matt Brammeier (Irl) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 0:04:16 |
64 | Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-BigMat | 0:04:21 |
65 | Roger Kluge (Ger) Project 1t4i | |
66 | Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank | 0:04:26 |
67 | Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 0:04:30 |
68 | Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank | |
69 | Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:04:33 |
70 | Aaron Kemps (Aus) Champion System | 0:04:39 |
71 | Joss Van Emden (Ned) Rabobank | |
72 | Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:04:44 |
73 | Diego Caccia (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 0:04:46 |
74 | Mickaël Delage (Fra) FDJ-BigMat | 0:04:49 |
75 | Jack Bauer (NZl) Garmin-Barracuda | 0:04:53 |
76 | Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 0:04:54 |
77 | Jacob Rathe (USA) Garmin-Barracuda | 0:05:03 |
78 | Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | 0:05:05 |
79 | Vladimir Isaychev (Rus) Katusha | |
80 | David McCann (Irl) RTS Racing Team | 0:05:10 |
81 | Roy Curvers (Ned) Project 1t4i | 0:05:22 |
82 | Gregory Rast (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan | 0:05:28 |
83 | Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 0:05:44 |
84 | Jérémy Hunt (GBr) Sky Procycling | 0:05:56 |
85 | Thomas Lebas (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor | 0:06:17 |
86 | Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha | 0:06:33 |
87 | Denis Galimzyanov (Rus) Katusha | 0:06:42 |
88 | Luca Ascani (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 0:06:48 |
89 | Joost Posthuma (Ned) RadioShack-Nissan | 0:06:59 |
90 | Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 0:07:14 |
91 | Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team | 0:07:17 |
92 | Thomas Bertolini (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 0:07:31 |
93 | Mart Ojavee (Est) Champion System | 0:08:12 |
94 | Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | 0:08:30 |
95 | Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:08:42 |
96 | Alexandre Lemair (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor | 0:09:50 |
97 | Miyataka Shimizu (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | 0:11:08 |
98 | Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack-Nissan | 0:11:37 |
99 | Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team | 0:12:29 |
100 | Christian Benenati (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 0:12:33 |
101 | Robert Wagner (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan | 0:12:45 |
102 | Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:12:59 |
103 | Thor Hushovd (Nor) BMC Racing Team | 0:13:20 |
104 | Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Katusha | 0:14:11 |
105 | Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank | 0:15:13 |
106 | Dominic Klemme (Ger) Project 1t4i | 0:16:02 |
107 | Jai Crawford (Aus) RTS Racing Team | 0:16:08 |
108 | Klaas Sys (Bel) Bridgestone Anchor | 0:17:40 |
109 | Kazuo Inoue (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | 0:20:26 |
110 | Lee Rodgers (GBr) RTS Racing Team | 0:20:58 |
111 | Alex Coutts (GBr) RTS Racing Team | 0:21:01 |
112 | Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 0:21:20 |
113 | Hayato Yoshida (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | 0:22:27 |
114 | Pengda Jiao (Chn) Champion System | 0:23:30 |
115 | Ryota Nishizono (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | 0:25:00 |
116 | Gang Xu (Chn) Champion System | 0:25:12 |
117 | Chin-Lung Huang (Tpe) RTS Racing Team | 0:29:35 |
118 | Wei Kei Chang (Tpe) RTS Racing Team | 0:40:13 |
119 | Sergey Kudentsov (Rus) RTS Racing Team | 0:44:47 |
1 | Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep | 45 | pts |
2 | Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling | 30 | |
3 | Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Barracuda | 19 | |
4 | Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 18 | |
5 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale | 18 | |
6 | Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank | 13 | |
7 | John Degenkolb (Ger) Project 1t4i | 13 | |
8 | Tom Veelers (Ned) Project 1t4i | 12 | |
9 | Adam Blythe (GBr) BMC Racing Team | 12 | |
10 | Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 10 | |
11 | Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Katusha | 10 | |
12 | Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan | 9 | |
13 | Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Sky Procycling | 7 | |
14 | Mehdi Sohrabi (IRI) Lotto Belisol Team | 6 | |
15 | Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha | 6 | |
16 | Robert Wagner (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan | 6 | |
17 | Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 6 | |
18 | Nikolas Maes (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 6 | |
19 | Davide Appollonio (Ita) Sky Procycling | 5 | |
20 | Allan Davis (Aus) GreenEdge Cycling Team | 5 | |
21 | Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha | 4 | |
22 | Yoann Offredo (Fra) FDJ-BigMat | 4 | |
23 | Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ-BigMat | 4 | |
24 | Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha | 4 | |
25 | Lars Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol Team | 3 | |
26 | Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team | 3 | |
27 | Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling | 3 | |
28 | David Boucher (Fra) FDJ-BigMat | 3 | |
29 | Andrea Guardini (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 3 | |
30 | Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha | 2 | |
31 | Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | 2 | |
32 | Denis Galimzyanov (Rus) Katusha | 2 | |
33 | Thomas Bertolini (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 2 | |
34 | Miyataka Shimizu (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | 2 | |
35 | Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale | 2 | |
36 | Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling | 1 | |
37 | Gregory Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team | 1 | |
38 | Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin-Barracuda | 1 | |
39 | Mart Ojavee (Est) Champion System | 1 | |
40 | Alexandre Lemair (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor | 1 | |
41 | Christian Benenati (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | -5 |
1 | Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Barracuda | 13:22:39 |
2 | Adam Blythe (GBr) BMC Racing Team | 0:00:05 |
3 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack-Nissan | 0:00:24 |
4 | John Degenkolb (Ger) Project 1t4i | 0:00:31 |
5 | Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Katusha | 0:01:07 |
6 | Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 0:01:08 |
7 | Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Project 1t4i | 0:01:18 |
8 | Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling | 0:01:38 |
9 | Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:01:43 |
10 | Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack-Nissan | 0:01:50 |
11 | Klaas Lodewijck (Bel) BMC Racing Team | 0:01:52 |
12 | Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ-BigMat | 0:01:59 |
13 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:02:32 |
14 | Davide Appollonio (Ita) Sky Procycling | 0:02:34 |
15 | Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha | |
16 | Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha | 0:02:36 |
17 | Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) FDJ-BigMat | 0:02:50 |
18 | Andrea Guardini (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 0:02:58 |
19 | Jacob Rathe (USA) Garmin-Barracuda | 0:03:54 |
20 | Denis Galimzyanov (Rus) Katusha | 0:05:33 |
21 | Thomas Bertolini (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 0:06:22 |
22 | Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | 0:07:21 |
23 | Alexandre Lemair (Fra) Bridgestone Anchor | 0:08:41 |
24 | Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team | 0:11:20 |
25 | Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Katusha | 0:13:02 |
26 | Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank | 0:14:04 |
27 | Hayato Yoshida (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | 0:21:18 |
28 | Ryota Nishizono (Jpn) Bridgestone Anchor | 0:23:51 |
29 | Chin-Lung Huang (Tpe) RTS Racing Team | 0:28:26 |
1 | Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 39:40:48 |
2 | Sky Procycling | 0:00:34 |
3 | Garmin - Barracuda | 0:01:23 |
4 | Project 1t4i | 0:02:10 |
5 | RadioShack-Nissan | 0:02:11 |
6 | GreenEdge Cycling Team | 0:02:33 |
7 | Lotto-Belisol Team | 0:02:37 |
8 | BMC Racing Team | 0:03:47 |
9 | Rabobank Cycling Team | 0:04:02 |
10 | FDJ-Bigmat | 0:04:55 |
11 | Katusha Team | 0:04:59 |
12 | Champion System | 0:06:38 |
13 | Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:08:36 |
14 | Farnese Vini-Selle Italia | 0:08:54 |
15 | Bridgestone Anchor | 0:16:59 |
16 | RTS Racing Team | 0:34:34 |
Great Britain’s Mark Cavendish (Team Sky) sprinted to victory in the penultimate stage of the 2012 Tour of Qatar on Thursday, using his positional instincts and the help of his teammates to make a decisive dash for the line in a crowded bunch finish.
It was Cavendish’s second victory this week, having tasted victory in stage two on Tuesday, and it more than made up for the disappointment of yesterday when he trailed home in 31st place. Seven of the remaining nine top ten spots were taken by young riders, with Liquigas-Canondale duo Daniel Oss (ITA) and Peter Sagan (SVK) claiming the remaining podium spots.
Cavendish moves up to seventh in the GC with one stage to go but remains more than a minute adrift of Belgium’s Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quick Step), who retained the golden jersey by a margin of 31 seconds from Garmin-Barracuda’s Taylor Farrar despite his worst finish (13th) of the week.
Stage five started just after noon at the Camel Race Track in the arid and dusty interior of the country, and the riders were greeted by dozens of camels as they made their last minute preparations. Aided by a tailwind, the riders scorched through more than 52kms in the first hour of racing. A breakaway group of five riders opened up a sizeable gap of 2:40 approaching the first intermediate sprint, which was won by Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Katusha) ahead of Thomas Bertolini (Farense Vini-Selle Italia) and Maciej Bodnar (Liquigas-Canondale).
The five riders were still clear at the second sprint, which came at the 124km mark and was won by RadioShack Nissan’s Robert Wagner. In the last ten kilometres the peloton closed together and the stage was set for a bunch sprint at the end of the 160km stage, which is the longest of the race. Boonen moved to the inside menacingly but found his momentum checked at a critical stage, and as all eyes were focussed on the race leader Cavendish swept clear 200 metres from the finish and held his arms aloft triumphantly in his trademark celebration.
“The last few kilometres were very hectic and everyone was nervous,” Cavendish said. “There was a bit of wind but not enough to break us up so there was a big peloton left at the finish and everybody fancied their chances. It was very chaotic and there were a few crashes and I hope that nobody is hurt from them.
“I’m really happy to have won. It’s my second stage win here this week and my team did a great job protecting me and keeping me up there for the final push. It’s a strong team that wants to do well, wants to win the sprints and the classics. It’s a team that can ride well in the wind and in the final, so it’s really good for us.”
After two wins and two second places in the four previous stages, Boonen was upstaged today but stayed close enough to consolidate his GC lead over Farrar, who was one place behind the Belgian in 14th place.
“I told the guys today that we could control the stage as a team,” Boonen said. “Over the last few days we have really been helped by Garmin and so we hadn’t expended too much energy so today I wanted to be really comfortable at the head of the peloton.
“Everybody was very fresh in the final so it made for a very hectic finish. This finish line has been good to me and it has been bad to me in the past. There are seven kinks and you have to be in the correct position. I was almost getting to the front nut got blocked on the left side. But the most important thing for today was to consolidate the golden jersey for tomorrow and preserve the good work we have done this week.”
The stage was marred by several crashes, the worst of which came just before the riders turned onto north road. It resulted in a broken collarbone for Filippo Pozzato (Farense Vini-Selle Italia) as several other riders including Thor Hushovd (BMC) ended up on the Tarmac.
The eleventh Tour of Qatar concludes tomorrow after the 120km sixth stage from the Sealine Beach Resort to the Doha Corniche. It appears that only a crash, and injury or a major mechanical failure can stop Boonen from securing a fourth win in the GC. But the young riders jersey is still very much up for grabs, with just five seconds separating current holder Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin-Barracuda) and Adam Blythe (BMC).
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