The last 5km of a very tough stage on a breezy day at the Tour of Qatar scuppered Sam Bennett, left, and his Bora-Argon 18 lead out train (Photo: Yofotos)
By Brian Canty
Sam Bennett was unable to contest the sprint that decided today’s hectic fourth stage of the Tour of Qatar after losing his lead-out train in the final few kilometres into the finish at Mesaieed.
The Irishman had kept his powder dry in yesterday’s 10.9-kilometre Individual time-trial in an effort to spare his legs for the sprint that was always on the cards today.
However, he was unable to unleash the powerful kick that has already seen him take fifth on the opening stage.
Instead he had to settle for 85th place at 17 seconds after losing touch with the lead group in the final 5km on a day when the breeze was key.
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He is now lying in 52nd place on general classification at just over five and a half minutes with two stages to go.
The plan for the Bora-Argon 18 team was to keep Bennett as sheltered as possible today and the German-registered squad looked to have matters under control until the final few kilometres.
But with the riders battling a strong headwind for much of the 165-kilometre stage, the race was controlled and many riders were fresh coming to the line.
“Our guys lost contact in the rush and they couldn’t prepare the sprint as planned,” said Bora–Argon directeur Andre Schulze.
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“Sam had to break and restart several times which made it impossible to build up momentum.
“Finally, he was blocked too far away from the front to go for the sprint. So we end up with no result.”
Stage honours went to Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) who just edged out Peter Sagan (Tinkoff -Saxo) while Nikias Arndt (Giant-Alpecin) completed the podium.
Race leader Niki Terpstra (Etixx-QuickStep) maintained his lead at the top of the standings, despite losing five seconds to Maciej Bodnar (Tinkoff-Saxo), who is second overall at just six seconds.
Ian Stannard (Team Sky) is third at 12 seconds.
Tomorrow’s penultimate stage takes the riders 153 kilometres from Al Zubara Fort to Madinat ash-Shamal where once again a sprint finish is expected.
Feb 8th to 13th: Tour of Qatar (UCI 2.HC)
Stage 4: Al Thakhira - Mesaieed 165.5km
1 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha 4:15:57
2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo
3 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin
4 Adam Blythe (GBr) Orica GreenEdge
5 Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani CSF
6 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling
7 Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
8 Andrea Guardini (Ita) Astana Pro Team
9 Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team
10 Sacha Modolo (Ita) Lampre-Merida
85 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Argon 18 @17secs
General Classification
1 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx - Quick-Step 12:09:44
2 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:00:06
3 Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:12
4 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:00:19
5 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha 0:00:21
6 Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:33
7 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:00:37
8 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling 0:00:39
9 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team 0:00:41
10 Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx - Quick-Step 0:00:42
52 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Argon 18 0:5:36
