Winner Niki Terpstra (C), runner-up Maciej Bodnar (R) and third-placed Alexander Kristoff (L) stand on the podium after the sixth and last stage of the 2015 Tour of Qatar yesterday. Qatar Cycling Federation chief Sheikh Khalid bin Ali al-Thani is seen at extreme left.
By Yash Mudgal/Doha
Dutch rider Niki Terpstra of Etixx-Quick Step claimed his second straight Tour of Qatar title at the end of the sixth and the final stage, which was won by Ireland’s Sam Bennett of the Bora Argon team at the Corncihe yesterday.
Terpstra finished safely in the peloton six seconds ahead of Poland’s Maciej Bodnar of Tinkoff-Saxo and 11 seconds over Norway’s Alexander Kristoff of team Katusha in the final stage.
The result gives him the perfect boost ahead of spring classics, which start at the end of this month.
“I’m very happy to win here and it shows I’m in a good shape,” said Terpstra after his victory.
The Dutchman said he would like to repeat last year’s feat when he won in Qatar and weeks later became champion at Paris-Roubaix.
“All races are important before reaching Paris-Roubaix and here in Doha too. It’s always good to win,” he said.
Bennett won a sprint finish for the stage ahead of Italy’s Andrea Guardini and France’s Nacer Bouhanni after the 113.5-km run from Sealine Beach. The 24-year-old won a stage of Bayern Rundfahrt last year, which is in the same second tier of stage races as the Tour of Qatar, but the fact he defeated the likes of Bouhanni, Peter Sagan and Alexander Kristoff makes his latest win stand out as his best.
Bora-Argon 18 rider Bennett described his victory as the biggest of his career.
“It’s is my biggest victory. There are a lot of riders who would be in the Tour de France in this race. It’s really competitive here. It’s good for morale. I put pressure on myself, I set out a number of wins for the season, and I have targets I want to achieve by certain points of the season.
“It was hectic. However, the lads looked after me today, as they have done all week, and they got me into a really good position before the last corner.
“It was so strung out, but I got on the right wheel. Guardini went early, which was perfect, and I was able to go whenever I wanted because nobody else was coming up,” the Irish rider said.
In a race where sprinters often shine, Norway’s Alexander Kristoff finished third overall for the after taking three stage wins. But yesterday, when it mattered most, Kristoff failed to add another stage win as he finished far down the field.
The Norwegian, who started the day 11 seconds adrift, picked up two bonus seconds at an intermediate sprint but could only finish 19th on the day and consequently missed out on the further bonus seconds he needed to climb up the standings.
“I can’t complain, because it was a great week. My team was impressive here, my teammates did an amazing race and I thank them for that. This is my best ever start of the season with three victories and final podium. We need some rest before Tour of Oman,” Kristoff said
“Before today’s stage everything was very close in overall classification, so it was clear we had to try something. We were motivated and we tried to get some seconds in the intermediate sprints during the race. But, in the same time we used a lot of energy. In the end we missed some power to bring me in front in a good position. But, at least we tried and we fought till the last meters,” he said.
Astana and IAM Cycling were also very active in the finale, though in the final kilometre, it was Sagan’s Tinkoff-Saxo team who took up the reins. Sagan was unable to finish off their work, however, and instead it was the hugely impressive Bennett – who picked his way through a stretched peloton to latch onto the perfect wheel – who unleashed a vicious sprint to take the win.
Bradley Wiggins lost time for the sixth day in a row, crossing the finish line 56 seconds down in 104th place to end the race 78th overall, 13:20sec behind Terpstra.
Speaking at the award ceremony, sponsor of the Tour ExxonMobil Qatar’s president and general manager Alistair Routledge said: “The tour event has become much awaited by local and international audiences with returning world-class athletes participating year after year. We very much value our association with Qatar Cycling Federation and believe that our community relationships are an essential element of our global business.”
Below: Dutch Nikki Terpstra (R) leads the pack during the sixth and last stage of the 2015 Tour of Qatar between Sealine Beach Resort and Doha Corniche yesterday.
