Showing the same blistering speed which saw him win 50% of the stages in the recent Tour de Langkawi, 21 year old Italian sprinter Andrea Guardini jetted to victory on the final day of the Tour of Qatar. The Farnese Vini – Neri Sottoli sprinter positioned himself well in what was a hectic, chaotic buildup to the final sprint, then timed his finishing move to perfection to hit the front 50 metres from the line and then cross it with arms aloft.
He beat last year’s double stage winner Francesco Chicchi (Quick Step) by half a bike length, with Rabobank’s Theo Bos netting third place.
Overnight race leader Mark Renshaw successfully protected his advantage over closest challengers Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Cervélo) and Daniele Bennati (Leopard Trek), adding slightly to his six second lead over the former when he was placed in the two intermediate sprints. Neither Haussler nor Bennati were able to challenge for the win in the final sprint.
“The last day was really a question of staying in the pack and making sure I stayed close to Haussler and at the head of the field,” Renshaw said. “It's great to come here and get the win in Qatar, it's such a hard race and to follow on the win by the women's team makes it even something special. It'll lift the team's morale and hopefully we'll be just as successful in the rest of the year as we were last season.”
Renshaw said that the result is the best he has had on the road during his career. He said today was all about marking his closest rival. “The last two laps of this stage were a bit of a blur, I was going through riders right and left and just trying to follow Haussler.
“With 500 meters to go I managed to get out of the pack, but with 200 meters to go I knew all I had to do was stay there and win the race.”
The 126.5 kilometre race from Sealine Beach Resort to Doha Corniche was marked by a long-distance move by
Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team) and Gediminas Bagdonas (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly). They went clear early on and built a four minute lead, but on the ten laps of the finishing circuit they were always likely to be reeled in. So it proved, with the fast driving of the pace by Team Sky, Garmin-Cervélo and others hauling them back with just over five kilometres to go.
Rabobank took over at that point, seeking to bookend the race by adding to Lars Boom’s prologue success with a Bos victory, but they were unable to prevent Team Sky, Garmin-Cervélo and Leopard Trek from moving back to the front with three kilometres remaining. Eighteen-time Tour of Qatar stage winner Tom Boonen sacrificed his chances in helping team-mate Chicchi get into the best position, but Guardini was the dark horse. Confidence boosted after those five stage wins plus the points jersey in the Tour de Langkawi, the first year pro rocketed to the front just before the line, blasting home to make it six victories in 2011.
Renshaw ensured celebration in the HTC-Highroad camp. Chief sprinter Mark Cavendish may not have performed after his crash in the prologue, but the American ProTeam squad proved once again in winning the overall that it is about more than just one rider. He’ll shine a little later in the season but for now, the team is doing just fine.
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Tour of Qatar 2011, stage five: Sealine Beach Resort to Doha Corniche (126.5km):
(provisional results)
1, Andrea Guardini (Farnese Vini-Neri)
2, Francesco Chicchi (Quick Step)
3, Theo Bos (Rabobank)
Final overall classification:
1, Mark Renshaw (HTC-Highroad)
2, Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Cervélo)
3, Daniele Bennati (Leopard-Trek)
4, Juan Antonio Flecha (Team Sky)
5, Roger Hammond (Garmin-Cervélo)