On the 135-kilometer fourth stage from Dukhan to Mesaieed, the Omega Pharma-QuickStep team once again took advantage of the strong crosswinds and led their captain Tom Boonen to their second win of the season. With this, the team, which with Niki Terpstra, who won the first stage, also leads the overall ranking, once again underlines their position in the race.
In the sprint, the leading group prevailed against the reigning German champion André Greipel (Lotto Belisol), who this time saw the decisive moment in the race and thus made it to the top. Third place went to Dutchman Barry Markus (Belkin). The young Irishman Sam Bennett, who starts for the German team NetApp-Endura, also ensured a notable success. He was fifth on the day.
The end of the extremely fast part of the day, with an average of 55 kilometers per hour, initially caused some confusion. Greipel, who had opened the sprint, thought he was the winner, but the photo at the finish decided against the man from Rostock, who narrowly missed out on another win of the season.
Terpstra continues to lead in the overall standings. Boonen improved to second place. Third is Belgian Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Belisol). The best German overall is Marcel Sieberg (Lotto Belisol) in seventh place.
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Result
1. Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) 2:22:34
2. André Greipel (Lotto Belisol) 0:00:00
3. Barry Markus (Belkin) 0:00:00
4. Aidis Kruopis (Orica-GreenEdge) 0:00:00
5. Sam Bennett (NetApp - Endura) 0:00:00
Total
1. Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) 9:19:30
2. Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) 0:00:17
3. Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Belisol) 0:00:20
4. Ian Stannard (Sky) 0:00:37
5. Guillaume van Keirsbulck (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) 0:00:47