Kristoff bags second Tour of Qatar win on stage 4; Cavendish takes overall lead

DOHA: Norwegian Alexander Kristoff sprinted to the fourth stage victory in the Tour of Qatar on Thursday, as his compatriot Edvald Boasson Hagen lost the overall leader’s gold jersey to Mark Cavendish.
Kristoff added to Tuesday’s second stage win by pipping his Katusha teammate Jacopo Guarnieri and Belgian Greg van Avermaet to the line.
The 28-year-old, who won three stages and the points classification in Qatar last year, is now fourth and just nine seconds behind overall leader Cavendish.
Cavendish finished fifth to retake the lead he lost to his Dimension Data teammate Boasson Hagen on Wednesday.
Hagen suffered a double puncture in the final 10 km of the stage and after changing a front wheel lost contact with the front group. He chased hard with several teammates but got stuck in the big chase group as the Lotto NL-Jumbo, BMC and then Katusha teams gave it everything at the head of the front group of 25 riders.
Hagen lost 45 seconds and his race lead. Cavendish took the gold jersey but Van Avermaet is now only two seconds back, with Kristoff fourth overall at just 9 seconds. Boasson Hagen slipped to fifth at 19 seconds.
Friday’s fifth and final stage is 114km long and finishes on the Doha Corniche. With time bonuses up for grabs in two intermediate sprints during the 10 laps of the Doha Corniche, and again at the finish, every second will help decide the overall winner of this year’s race.
“The team did a really good job in the final kilometer, putting me with really good speed into the sprint,” said Kristoff in a post-race interview. “For me it was just to finish it off and keep the other guys behind me. I knew Cavendish was there but I think he was stuck a bit behind so it went perfectly for our team.
“It (the general classification) will be decided Friday. Cavendish is leading the race and he is not a slow man, so if it comes down to bonus seconds I think, if he’s not unlucky, he will protect his lead, but it is quite open.”

Results (Fourth Stage):

1. Alexander Kristoff (NOR/KAT) 3hr 57min 12sec, 2. Greg Van Avermaet (BEL/BMC) same time, 3. Jacopo Guarnieri (ITA/KAT) s.t., 4. Sam Bennett (IRL/BOA) s.t., 5. Mark Cavendish (GBR/DDD) s.t., 6. Manuel Quinziato (ITA/BMC) s.t., 7. Viacheslav Kuznetsov (RUS/KAT) at 06, 8. Soren Kragh Andersen (DEN/GIA) 08, 9. Moreno Hofland (NED/LNL) 09, 10. Michael Morkov (DEN/KAT) 09.

Overall (after four of five stages):
1. Mark Cavendish (GBR/DDD) 10hr 51min 13sec, 2. Greg Van Avermaet (BEL/BMC) at 02, 3. Manuel Quinziato (ITA/BMC) 06, 4. Alexander Kristoff (NOR/KAT) 09, 5. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR/DDD) 19, 6. Soren Kragh Andersen (DEN/GIA) 30, 7. Sam Bennett (IRL/BOA) 41, 8. Sven Erik Byström (NOR/KAT) 49, 9. Viacheslav Kuznetsov (RUS/KAT) 50, 10. Michael Schär (SUI/BMC) 58.