Sam Bennett: "I got Greipel's wheel; I was capable of much more but I got badly boxed in"

The photo finish from today shows Bennett (5th) is not that far off the really big names like Boonen (1st) and Greipel (2nd).

Sam Bennett has said he felt he was capable of much better than 5^th in the bunch sprint that settled today’s stage 4 of the Tour of Qatar, but got caught out when a lead out trained stalled a little and then got boxed in.

In a sign of his growing confidence sprinting against some of the fastest men in the world, he sounded disappointed with today’s placing though must other observers would find it impressive.

He said he had fought his way onto Andre Greipel’s wheel coming into the gallop but the Lotto Belisol lead-out train but found himself boxed in as the sprint started.

“I got onto Greipel's wheel inside the last kilometre but his train ran out of steam and started to slow up,” said Bennett afterwards.

“Guys came around the outside and I was totally boxed in and couldn’t use my sprint. I thought I was on for a great result but ended up fifth.”

In the end, Bennett came home just behind Belkin’s Barry Markus and Aidis Kroupis of Orica GreenEdge.

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“It's a pity, because everything went perfect and I had super legs today,” he said.

“It was a nice day, very, very fast. In the first hour my average speed was 58kph! But I got great support from the team all day, so big thanks to them, they did a perfect job.

“All of the guys are strong enough to be up there and while you do need a bit of luck, it was my own fault inside the last kilometre today.”

Winner Boonen said with the stage run off at such a high speed, timing was everything in the final sprint.

"It helped that I've already won one stage. I think you are a little bit more relaxed and you don't make any mistakes," Boonen said afterwards. "But it's also about being in a very good condition, and knowing when you can go: that gives you the confidence not to make mistakes."

Feb 9th to 14th: Tour of Qatar (UCI 2.HC)

Feb 12th, Stage 4: Dukhan – Mesaieed 135km