British rider Jacob Tipper finished second to retain the yellow jersey. Right: Maher Hasnaoui of Skydive Dubai recorded his maiden win yesterday.
By Sports Reporter/Doha
Maher Hasnaoui of Skydive Dubai recorded his maiden win as he clinched the first stage of the Tour of Zubarah yesterday.
Hasnaoui clocked a time of 3 hours 10 minutes and 52 seconds to win the stage that started in Al Thakhira and finished at Madinat Al Shamal, the northernmost tip of Qatar.
British rider Jacob Tipper, who topped Wednesday’s prologue, finished 12 seconds adrift of the stage winner.
Tipper was satisfied with his show today as he retained yellow jersey after an exciting battle. “I am happy with my performance today as I finished second. I managed to hold on to yellow and extended my lead in the points classification,” Tipper said.
In third place was Koos Jeroen Kers of Wilton Cycling team, who was also 12 seconds behind Hasnaoui. Italian rider and Hasnaoui’s teammate Andrea Palini produced yet another consistent run by finishing the 129.9kms stage at the fourth place.
Abdelbasat Hanachi of Sharjah Team completed the top-five riders of the stage. The 26-year-old Hasnaoui took up the challenge when a five-rider breakaway headed for the final two loops on the 129.9-km run which began at Al Thakhira Youth Centre.
The small bunch also included Yellow Jersery holder Tipper of Team Giant-RBS, Skydive Dubai lead rider Palini, Wilton Team’s Koos Jeroen Kers and Sharjah Team’s Abdelbasat Hanachi.
The splinter group pushed away from the peloton when the race entered the first of four 13.5km loops. With more than one and half loops left, Hasnaoui accelerated suddenly and launched an attack and would not be caught. He put in a great deal of leg power and sped home, 12 seconds ahead of the four-rider chasing group for his first 2.2 category stage race win. Another group of 11 riders followed.
Before this stage win, the best results for the UAE Cup winner Hasnaoui this year were the first place in the Team Time Trial in Jelajah Malaysia and a ninth place in the opening stage in the same race.
He had an impressive sixth place in the fifth stage of the 2.HC Tour de Langkawi and second place in the National Individual Time Trial. Qatar’s Moosa Said finished the stage in 22nd spot. A place behind Moosa was compatriot Ahmed Bassam al-Bourdainy, who is riding for Sharjah Team.
The 119.8km long second stage will be held from Camel Race Track to Dukhan today.
