Mark Renshaw sprints to win and into lead at Tour of Qatar

DOHA, Qatar (VN) — On another blustery day, HTC-HighRoad’s Mark Renshaw showed he can do much more than leadout Mark Cavendish by powering to the win of stage 4 and taking the Tour of Qatar’s golden leader’s jersey with one stage remaining.

Renshaw played off of the Leopard Trek team, which had taken control of the front of the race in the last kilometer and a half of the 154km stage. “I had the perfect wheel, I had the wheel of (Leopard Trek’s Daniele) Bennati,” Renshaw said. “I looked back and I saw Boonen jump and I knew that it was time to go. I’m really happy that I had the power to beat Tom Boonen in a sprint.”

Bennati came in second and stage 1 winner Boonen (Quick Step) was third. Overnight leader Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Cervelo) was fourth. Haussler said the long week in the Qatari winds has left him a bit flat. “It was hard, really hard. It’s just the last three days were so hard, I started to feel it in the legs in the sprint. I just never had the punch to really get it going.”

Haussler said he was surprised at his good form at the season’s first race.

“I came here not even thinking about winning a stage, just really to find my form, so I’m disappointed to lose the jersey, but it’s still OK,” he said.

Neck-tie course

The stage left from the host hotel in Doha, allowing riders a bit of extra time in the morning without a transfer. The course was shaped like a neck tie, with a big loop to the north, returned for a ways on the same road and then veered west to finish in the village of Al Kharaitiyat.

Once again, stiff winds slammed the peloton from the start and riders fought their way into echelons.

Haussler started the day with a mere 4-second lead over Renshaw, an advantage that could easily evaporate if Renshaw could nab either of the two intermediate sprints. So Garmin-Cervelo was more than happy to let a breakaway of non-GC threats roll of the front and snag the first points.

The break was absorbed soon after the first sprint, and then some aggressive riding by Quick Step got that team’s Gert Steegmans into a 20-man break, along with Garmin’s Gabriel Rasch. Both were far enough up on the GC to make Renshaw’s team nervous. HTC-Columbia’s Jan Ghyselinck was briefly in the break, but after a conversation with the team car, he sat up and waited for the chase group.

“When Steegmans and Rasch went, that was a pretty decisive move and straight away we tried to chase it,” Renshaw said.

The breakaway stayed away through the second sprint, won by Rasch with Steegmans second. Then the gap quickly came down and the break was caught with 20k to go.

Tjingalli and Wiggins go solo

The route returned to a wide, smooth divided highway for the final kilometers, and Maarten Tjallingii launched a determined solo with about 15km to go. Tjallingii never got more than a 20-second gap however, and the remaining front group of only about 26 riders was intact when it exited the highway toward the finish.

With 2 kilometers to go, Team Sky’s Bradley Wiggins launched off and led through a series of fast roundabouts. But HTC and Leopard Trek chased him down. Leopard Trek, working to set up Bennati, took control of the front with 1 1/2k to go, and Bennati was the first to jump for the line.

Unfortunately for Bennati, who has been on the podium each stage this week, Renshaw had fought his way onto his wheel and timed his kick perfectly for the line.

Final stage

Friday stage 5 is 126km, from the Sealine Beach Resort back to Doha. There are 16 seconds in bonuses available: two intermediate sprints offering 3-second bonuses and a 10-second bonus to the stage winner. With Bennati and Haussler both within 15 seconds of Renshaw, and Sky’s Juan Antonio Flecha just 24 seconds back, it should be a battle of the new season’s powerhouse teams: HTC-HighRoad, Garmin-Cervelo, Leopard Trek and Sky.

“It’s going to be a really nervous day, it’s going to really be a tactical race,” Renshaw predicted.

Stage 4 1. Mark Renshaw, HTC-Highroad, in 3:12:36 2. Daniele Bennati, Leopard-Trek, at 3. Tom Boonen, Quick Step, s.t. 4. Heinrich Haussler, Garmin-Cervelo, s.t. 5. Denis Galimzyanov, Katusha, s.t. 6. Roger Kluge, Skil-Shimano, s.t. 7. Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni, Sky, s.t. 8. Tomas Vaitkus, Pro Astana, s.t. 9. Roger Hammond, Garmin-Cervelo, s.t. 10. Greg Van Avermaet, BMC, s.t. 11. Danilo Hondo, Lampre-ISD, s.t. 12. Stijn Vandenbergh, Katusha, at 00:03 13. Maarten Wynants, Rabobank, at 00:03 14. Johan Van Summeren, Garmin-Cervelo, at 00:03 15. Bernhard Eisel, HTC-Highroad, at 00:03 16. Nikolas Maes, Quick Step, at 00:03 17. Jérémy Hunt, Sky, at 00:03 18. Kurt-asle Arvesen, Sky, at 00:03 19. Ian Stannard, Sky, at 00:03 20. Jelle Wallays, Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator, at 00:03 21. Wouter Weylandt, Leopard-Trek, at 00:03 22. Bradley Wiggins, Sky, at 00:08 23. Lars Boom, Rabobank, at 00:10 24. Davide Vigano, Leopard-Trek, at 00:12 25. Stuart O’grady, Leopard-Trek, at 00:19 26. Alex Dowsett, Sky, at 00:21 27. Aliaksandr Kuchynski, Katusha, at 00:37 28. Karsten Kroon, BMC, at 00:43 29. Maarten Tjallingii, Rabobank, at 00:43 30. Koen De Kort, Skil-Shimano, at 00:43 31. Michael SchÄr, BMC, at 00:43 32. Pieter Serry, Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator, at 00:43 33. Gert Steegmans, Quick Step, at 00:43 34. Francesco Chicchi, Quick Step, at 00:43 35. Nikolay Trusov, Katusha, at 00:43 36. Marcus Burghardt, BMC, at 00:43 37. Lars Bak, HTC-Highroad, at 00:43 38. Andreas Stauff, Quick Step, at 00:43 39. Matt Brammeier, HTC-Highroad, at 00:43 40. Mirco Lorenzetto, Pro Astana, at 00:43 41. Bram Tankink, Rabobank, at 00:43 42. Gabriel Rasch, Garmin-Cervelo, at 00:00 43. Travis Meyer, Garmin-Cervelo, at 00:43 44. Rick Flens, Rabobank, at 00:43 45. Marko Kump, Geox-Tmc, at 00:43 46. Giovanni Visconti, Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli, at 1:06 47. Simon Clarke, Pro Astana, at 1:31 48. Preben Van Hecke, Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator, at 1:31 49. Russel Downing, Sky, at 2:06 50. Simon Geschke, Skil-Shimano, at 2:06 51. Kévin Van Impe, Quick Step, at 2:08 52. Fabian Cancellara, Leopard-Trek, at 4:14 53. Dominique Rollin, FdJ, at 4:44 54. Leonardo Giordani, Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli, at 4:44 55. Tom Veelers, Skil-Shimano, at 4:44 56. Gediminas Bagdonas, An Post-Sean Kelly, at 4:44 57. Théo Bos, Rabobank, at 4:44 58. Gatis Smukulis, HTC-Highroad, at 4:44 59. Mark Cavendish, HTC-Highroad, at 4:44 60. Xavier Florencio Cabre, Geox-Tmc, at 4:44 61. Matteo Pelucchi, Geox-Tmc, at 4:44 62. Valentin Iglinskiy, Pro Astana, at 4:44 63. Alexander Kristoff, BMC, at 4:44 64. Daniele Ratto, Geox-Tmc, at 4:44 65. Dmytro Krivtsov, Lampre-ISD, at 4:44 66. John Murphy, BMC, at 4:44 67. Matthieu Ladagnous, FdJ, at 4:44 68. Dennis Van Winden, Rabobank, at 4:44 69. Fréderique Robert, Quick Step, at 4:44 70. Danilo Wyss, BMC, at 4:44 71. Filippo Pozzato, Katusha, at 4:44 72. Yoann Offredo, FdJ, at 4:44 73. Manuel Quinziato, BMC, at 4:44 74. Patrik Sinkewitz, Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli, at 4:44 75. Manuele Mori, Lampre-ISD, at 4:44 76. Adriano Malori, Lampre-ISD, at 4:44 77. Leif Hoste, Katusha, at 4:44 78. William Bonnet, FdJ, at 4:44 79. Tom Stamsnijder, Leopard-Trek, at 4:44 80. Mark Cassidy, An Post-Sean Kelly, at 4:44 81. Graeme Brown, Rabobank, at 4:44 82. Daniel Lloyd, Garmin-Cervelo, at 4:44 83. Luca Paolini, Katusha, at 5:16 84. Kevin Claeys, An Post-Sean Kelly, at 8:51 85. Sam Bennett, An Post-Sean Kelly, at 8:51 86. Maxim De Busschere, An Post-Sean Kelly, at 8:51 87. Vitaliy Kondrut, Lampre-ISD, at 8:51 88. Tomas Alberio, Geox-Tmc, at 8:51 89. Mark Mcnally, An Post-Sean Kelly, at 8:51 90. Niko Eeckhout, An Post-Sean Kelly, at 8:51 91. Geert Steurs, Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator, at 8:51 92. Andrew Fenn, An Post-Sean Kelly, at 8:51 93. Ronan Van Zandbeek, Skil-Shimano, at 8:51 94. Lars-peter Nordhaug, Sky, at 8:51 95. Maxim Gourov, Pro Astana, at 8:51 96. Tanel Kangert, Pro Astana, at 8:51 97. Kenny Robert Van Hummel, Skil-Shimano, at 8:51 98. Davide Ricci Bitti, Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli, at 8:51 99. Marco Corti, Geox-Tmc, at 8:51 100. Frédéric Guesdon, FdJ, at 8:51 101. Patrick Gretsch, HTC-Highroad, at 8:51 102. Joost Posthuma, Leopard-Trek, at 8:51 103. Michael Van Staeyen, Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator, at 8:51 104. Anthony Geslin, FdJ, at 8:51 105. Diego Caccia, Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli, at 8:51 106. Sandy Casar, FdJ, at 8:51 107. Dominic Klemme, Leopard-Trek, at 8:51 108. Oscar Gatto, Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli, at 8:51 109. Andrea Guardini, Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli, at 8:51 110. David Gutierrez, Geox-Tmc, at 8:51 111. Matteo Bono, Lampre-ISD, at 8:51 112. Andriy Grivko, Pro Astana, at 8:51 113. Mikhail Ignatyev, Katusha, at 8:51 114. Dmitry Kozontchuk, Geox-Tmc, at 8:51 115. Jan Ghyselinck, HTC-Highroad, at 8:51 116. Andreas Klier, Garmin-Cervelo, at 8:57 117. Stijn Neirynck, Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator, at 8:57

Overall, after Stage 4 1. Mark Renshaw, HTC-Highroad, in 12h 47′ 00″ 2. Heinrich Haussler, Garmin-Cervelo, at 3. Daniele Bennati, Leopard-Trek, at 00:15 4. Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni, Sky, at 00:24 5. Roger Hammond, Garmin-Cervelo, at 00:36 6. Jérémy Hunt, Sky, at 00:37 7. Gabriel Rasch, Garmin-Cervelo, at 00:40 8. Bernhard Eisel, HTC-Highroad, at 1:03 9. Marcus Burghardt, BMC, at 1:31 10. Gert Steegmans, Quick Step, at 1:33 11. Johan Van Summeren, Garmin-Cervelo, at 1:38 12. Nikolas Maes, Quick Step, at 1:39 13. Tom Boonen, Quick Step, at 3:13 14. Stuart O’grady, Leopard-Trek, at 3:56 15. Dominique Rollin, FdJ, at 5:18 16. Maarten Wynants, Rabobank, at 5:31 17. Roger Kluge, Skil-Shimano, at 5:34 18. Danilo Hondo, Lampre-ISD, at 5:34 19. Denis Galimzyanov, Katusha, at 5:58 20. Davide Vigano, Leopard-Trek, at 6:09 21. Mirco Lorenzetto, Pro Astana, at 6:21 22. Maarten Tjallingii, Rabobank, at 6:59 23. Lars Boom, Rabobank, at 7:07 24. Simon Clarke, Pro Astana, at 7:27 25. Ian Stannard, Sky, at 7:45 26. Stijn Vandenbergh, Katusha, at 8:40 27. Bradley Wiggins, Sky, at 8:43 28. Graeme Brown, Rabobank, at 9:07 29. Yoann Offredo, FdJ, at 10:24 30. Rick Flens, Rabobank, at 10:27 31. Luca Paolini, Katusha, at 12:33 32. Tom Stamsnijder, Leopard-Trek, at 13:16 33. Filippo Pozzato, Katusha, at 13:26 34. Wouter Weylandt, Leopard-Trek, at 13:31 35. Francesco Chicchi, Quick Step, at 16:57 36. Stijn Neirynck, Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator, at 17:36 37. Russel Downing, Sky, at 18:06 38. Bram Tankink, Rabobank, at 20:05 39. Mark Cavendish, HTC-Highroad, at 20:19 40. Tom Veelers, Skil-Shimano, at 20:40 41. Théo Bos, Rabobank, at 20:48 42. William Bonnet, FdJ, at 20:49 43. Matthieu Ladagnous, FdJ, at 20:50 44. Leif Hoste, Katusha, at 20:51 45. Alexander Kristoff, BMC, at 20:53 46. Fréderique Robert, Quick Step, at 20:57 47. Dennis Van Winden, Rabobank, at 22:32 48. Gediminas Bagdonas, An Post-Sean Kelly, at 23:06 49. Oscar Gatto, Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli, at 24:58 50. Maxim Gourov, Pro Astana, at 25:03 51. Tanel Kangert, Pro Astana, at 27:12 52. Ronan Van Zandbeek, Skil-Shimano, at 31:48 53. Andrew Fenn, An Post-Sean Kelly, at 36:35 54. Fabian Cancellara, Leopard-Trek, at 37:27 55. Nikolay Trusov, Katusha, at 39:10 56. Lars Bak, HTC-Highroad, at 39:15 57. Koen De Kort, Skil-Shimano, at 39:15 58. Andreas Stauff, Quick Step, at 39:48 59. Andreas Klier, Garmin-Cervelo, at 42:18 60. Tomas Vaitkus, Pro Astana, at 45:46 61. Greg Van Avermaet, BMC, at 45:54 62. Kurt-asle Arvesen, Sky, at 45:58 63. Alex Dowsett, Sky, at 46:06 64. Travis Meyer, Garmin-Cervelo, at 46:39 65. Aliaksandr Kuchynski, Katusha, at 46:40 66. Michael SchÄr, BMC, at 46:41 67. Karsten Kroon, BMC, at 46:43 68. Marko Kump, Geox-Tmc, at 46:43 69. Patrick Gretsch, HTC-Highroad, at 47:15 70. Matt Brammeier, HTC-Highroad, at 47:55 71. Simon Geschke, Skil-Shimano, at 47:59 72. John Murphy, BMC, at 50:36 73. Daniel Lloyd, Garmin-Cervelo, at 50:36 74. Patrik Sinkewitz, Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli, at 50:38 75. Gatis Smukulis, HTC-Highroad, at 50:39 76. Manuele Mori, Lampre-ISD, at 50:40 77. Xavier Florencio Cabre, Geox-Tmc, at 50:42 78. Danilo Wyss, BMC, at 50:45 79. Dmytro Krivtsov, Lampre-ISD, at 50:48 80. Matteo Pelucchi, Geox-Tmc, at 50:50 81. Giovanni Visconti, Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli, at 50:52 82. Jelle Wallays, Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator, at 50:59 83. Leonardo Giordani, Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli, at 51:13 84. Pieter Serry, Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator, at 51:42 85. Kévin Van Impe, Quick Step, at 53:09 86. Valentin Iglinskiy, Pro Astana, at 53:11 87. Manuel Quinziato, BMC, at 53:22 88. Preben Van Hecke, Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator, at 53:44 89. Maxim De Busschere, An Post-Sean Kelly, at 54:46 90. Davide Ricci Bitti, Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli, at 54:47 91. Michael Van Staeyen, Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator, at 54:48 92. Andriy Grivko, Pro Astana, at 54:49 93. Kenny Robert Van Hummel, Skil-Shimano, at 54:51 94. Mark Mcnally, An Post-Sean Kelly, at 54:51 95. Andrea Guardini, Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli, at 54:53 96. Frédéric Guesdon, FdJ, at 54:53 97. Diego Caccia, Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli, at 55:49 98. Lars-peter Nordhaug, Sky, at 55:49 99. Adriano Malori, Lampre-ISD, at 55:50 100. Dominic Klemme, Leopard-Trek, at 55:59 101. Mark Cassidy, An Post-Sean Kelly, at 56:53 102. Daniele Ratto, Geox-Tmc, at 57:31 103. Matteo Bono, Lampre-ISD, at 58:19 104. Mikhail Ignatyev, Katusha, at 58:35 105. Niko Eeckhout, An Post-Sean Kelly, at 58:39 106. Anthony Geslin, FdJ, at 59:49 107. Jan Ghyselinck, HTC-Highroad, at 59:51 108. Tomas Alberio, Geox-Tmc, at 59:51 109. Sam Bennett, An Post-Sean Kelly, at 59:52 110. Kevin Claeys, An Post-Sean Kelly, at 59:53 111. Geert Steurs, Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator, at 59:59 112. Dmitry Kozontchuk, Geox-Tmc, at 1:00:06 113. David Gutierrez, Geox-Tmc, at 1:00:10 114. Vitaliy Kondrut, Lampre-ISD, at 1:00:18 115. Joost Posthuma, Leopard-Trek, at 1:00:27 116. Marco Corti, Geox-Tmc, at 1:00:35 117. Sandy Casar, FdJ, at 1:00:58