Tom Boonen wins the fourth stage of the Tour of Qatar
Tom Boonen claimed his second stage win at the Tour of Qatar as he cruised through the finish-line in the fastest time of 3 hours, 3 minutes and 14 seconds, during the fourth day of racing.
The Belgian started the 144 kilometre stage 4 of the race with a lead of 6 seconds over Tyler Farrar at the overall classifications.
His second concern was Mark Cavendish, who was further two seconds behind Tyler, after the first three stages.
Boonen kept a close eye on his two main rivals and maintained his lead throughout the race. Tyler finished the race at the 14th position, with Cavendish claiming the 31st spot.
Tom Veelers of Team Project 1t4i claimed the second position with Fabian Cancellara at the third position.
Juan Antonio Flecha, Gert Steegmans and Nikolas Maes occupied the fourth, fifth and sixth positions in the respective order.
Boonen is having a terrific Tour of Qatar, he won the opening stage of the race and finished second during the team time trial stage two. His stage 4 win has also strengthened his grip on the final classifications.
The 31-year-old was delightful after claiming the stage, “The wind, again, was a little bit different to what we are used to. It was mainly head and tail winds but there were a few sections with a cross wind and that’s what split the pack”.
He continued, “We were the team, together with Garmin, who was really pushing to stay in front and today we got rewarded for our hard work. I think that after today we are in a much more comfortable position to secure the overall victory and it has been
a crucial day”.
Boonen also won the 121 kilometre second sprint of the race while Lars Bak claimed the 81 kilometre opening sprint of the event.
Ian Stannard, Ramunas Navardaukas and Adam Blythe were the top three young riders of the day.
Tom is currently leading the stage 4 classifications and Tyler Farrar is still at the second position but his deficit has now increased from 6 seconds to 31 seconds.
Juan Antonio Flecha, Gert Steegmans and Bernhard Eisel are at the third, fourth and fifth positions in the respective order.
Stage 3 winner, Mark Cavendish, has now dropped down to the 11th overall position, he is 1 minute and 15 seconds behind the race leader.
With two more stages to go at the 2012 edition of the Tour of Qatar, Tom Boonen of Team Omega Pharma-Quick Step has a strong chance to seal the overall win at the race.
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