Tour of Qatar 2016

Tour of Qatar. Alexander Kristoff wins again after perfect team work

An ideal lead out on the final kilometer of stage 4 in Madinat Al Shamal brought Alexander Kristoff in a perfect position for his second victory in the Tour of Qatar. The powerful lead of the KATUSHA riders split the front group indeed and provided an excellent possibility for Alexander to show his sprinter’s abilities.

- In the first part of the race it was not windy, but later the wind became stronger. We thought the peloton would come together at the finish and we had a plan for that situation, but the group was definitely split up. We still had many of our riders in the front group; the guys did a powerful lead out, we split the group again and it worked well. It was a perfect finish for us with first and third places. Today I felt good, as strong as I was two days ago, so everything was ok for me. I want to thank my team, it was a great day for us – all guys did a fantastic job both during the stage in every dangerous moment and at the end, - said Alexander Kristoff.

Behind Kristoff finished Greg Van Avermaet, from BMC, and another Team KATUSHA rider Jacopo Guarnieri, who was able to save some power to take the third place in this stage. Also Viacheshav Kuznetsov and Michael Mørkøv were not far with 7th and 10th places respectively.

The 4th stage started near the famous Al Zubarah Fort and finished after 189 km of racing in Madinat Al Shamal. The peloton started the race under the blue sky and without any wind, but later, after the first intermediate sprint, the wind became stronger and it provoked a few splits in the peloton. With some 10 km to go race leader Edvald Boasson Hagen was forced to slow down because of a flat tire, while the group in front continued to pull out hard.

- I am really sorry for Edvald (Boasson Hagen), he had a flat tire at the wrong moment. Few teams pulled in front because there was a fight for the general classification. We stayed behind, saving our legs for the last 2 km. The stage victory was the main goal for us and we achieved it, - added Alexander Kristoff.

After coming back in the race it was impossible for Boasson Hagen and half of the group to come back because of the strong wind. In the final sprint, Team KATUSHA went out in front with 1,8 km to go, creating a great lead out for Alexander Kristoff.

- We were aware of the strong wind in the second part of the race. We won here last year and today we were able to repeat it. Unfortunately Boasson Hagen had a puncture and it is a really pity for him as a race leader to lose the jersey in this way. LottoNL-Jumbo and BMC pulled hard in the head wind; they fought for the overall classification, but we stayed a little bit behind, because it was a head wind and our focus was a stage victory and not the GC. On the other hand I want to say it is a pleasure to work with the group of riders we have here. All the guys are really focused, they are very united, they know what to do on the road and which decision to take. It was a beautiful team’s victory today and I am really proud of the team, - said sports director Torsten Schmidt.

In the general classification Mark Cavendish from Team Dimension Data got back into the gold jersey, while Alexander Kristoff moved up to 4th place, only 9 seconds behind. Also Sven Erik Bystrøm and Viacheslav Kuznetsov are still in Top-10 with 8th and 9th positions, respectively.

Moreover, after this stage Alexander Kristoff took the lead in the points classification, wearing the silver jersey.

Tomorrow will be held the final stage of the race – Sealine Beach Resort – Doha Corniche, 114,5 km.