It was finally caught with 12km to go, and on the decent of the final climb, the peleton split resulting in Sky's Cummings was able to win the final intermediate sprint, taking the bonus seconds in the process.
The advantage was no forthcoming however as the peleton regrouped, allowing Geslin to take the victory, extending his own advantage over his rivals.
7th February 2010 - Étoile de Bessèges Stage 5 (Gran Prix de Bessèges)
The final stage is a 27km 5-lap circuit around the town of Bessèges. Nothing too tough for the riders, this will be a day for wrapping up the respective jerseys, and making sure the riders don't lose them on the final day.
Riders to Watch: S. Dumoulin, A. Geslin, R. Urán, S. Cummings My tip for the Stage: Y. Arashiro. The Bbox rider came second yesterday, and over this type of terrain, he shouldn't have too much trouble getting to the finish, and taking the victory.
7th February 2010 - Étoile de Bessèges Stage 5 (Gran Prix de Bessèges)
De Waele wins the finale for a GC podium
Belgian Bert De Waele took the final stage of the Étoile de Bessèges, after attacking in the closing kilometres and holding on in the sprint. The victory also earns him a podium place in the Overall Classification.
The stage began with all the Classification Jerseys up for grabs, but within 2kilometres, the Mountain Classification was sewn up. Peter Kennaugh of Team Sky attacked from the off with one goal in mind... Take this Mountain Classification Sprint and the jersey is his, and that what he did with only competition from AG2R's Christophe Riblon.
Both riders dropped back into the peleton, and more attacks occurred, and a group of 7 riders got clear. With no real contention in the Jersey Classifications for the breakaway riders, the peleton let them go, and all the points were swept up by the escapees.
As the group was caught, the peleton had again been depleted with the pace set by the ProTour teams at the front. Then De Waele saw his chance. He attacked on the final climb, with no reaction from the peleton or the GC rivals, and he held on to take the win on the line.
The bonus seconds gained for the victory moved De Waele up to second on the GC behind Geslin and above Kiendys and Cummings, but Team Sky's Steve Cummings sprinted to third on the stage and his bonus seconds gained meant he went above Kiendys to retain his GC podium spot.
Team Reaction to the Race:
An outstanding performance by the riders at the race. The podium place on GC with Cummings is great for the future of the rider, and something which the team can take into the next race. We took a stage win with Viganó on stage 1 and several podium places with several other riders. Peter Kennaugh performance, however, is the real stand out mark. He takes home the Mountain Classification Jersey and misses out on a Top 10 finish on GC by around 45". At the age of only 20, he has a great future ahead of him.
The Tour of Qatar is a 5-day stage race held in Qatar. Organised by A.S.O., the organisers behind the Tour de France, the Tour of Qatar was started in 2002, and is a race for a sprinter, with completely flat stages across the desert and the only great problem being the strong winds that can build up during the stages.
The Tour of Qatar will see the first appearance of Bradley Wiggins in the colours of Team Sky, as well as giving the team a chance to show off our near full strength lead-out train; Juan Antonio Flecha, Geraint Thomas and Edvald Boasson Hagen. We will look for overall victory in this race, and will concentrate mainly on stage victories in the sprints and opening Team Time Trial.
Previous winners of the Tour of Qatar include Robbie Hunter and most recently Tom Boonen in 2006, 2008 and 2009.
7th February 2010 - Tour of Qatar Stage 1 TTT (Doha)
The opening stage of the Tour of Qatar is traditionally a Team Time Trial, and this year is no exception. This will be an early test of stamina and teamwork, as the teams make their way across the 8km course. As always in Qatar, the weather and wind will play a key part, and no doubt their will be a shock in the final standings.
Teams to Watch: HTC-Columbia, Team Sky, Rabobank, Quick-Step My tip for the Stage: Team HTC-Columbia. They have a great history in the discipline, winning many stages over the years, including the opening TTT of the Giro d'Italia in 2009. It will be a very tight stage, but I can't look past HTC for the win.
7th February 2010 - Tour of Qatar Stage 1 TTT (Doha)
Team Sky start the quickest
Team Sky came in first in the Team Time Trial on the first stage of the Tour of Qatar. The team posted a time of 11'01" over the 8km course, 2" quicker than Quick-Step and 5" ahead of third placed HTC-Columbia.
HTC set the fastest time of the day early on in the stage, 11'06", setting off second on the road, and the closest a team got to the time was Rabobank, who came in 14" slower.
HTC were then shocked, as Quick-Step went quickest on the stage, beating the time by 3", and the time looked to have won them the stage, until Team Sky, who were setting off last, came in with the winning time.
The stage result means the young Welshman Geraint Thomas is the first wearer of the Leaders Jersey in this 2010 edition, with Ian Stannard, also of Team Sky, wearing the Jersey for the Best Young Rider.
Thomas takes the applause for the Team Sky victory
8th February 2010 - Tour of Qatar Stage 2 (Al Zubarah-Doha Golf Club)
Stage 2 takes the riders from Al Zubarah to the Doha Golf Club across the desert. There will be attacks on the stage, as always, but the biggest worry to the peleton and the GC favourites will be the vicious crosswinds that can occur in these desert stages, and a split in the peleton.
Riders to Watch: E. Boasson Hagen, T. Boonen, G. Van Avermaet, J.J. Rojas My tip for the Stage: T. Boonen. The Belgian has years of experience in cycling and sprints in these conditions, and I doubt he will get caught out by the crosswinds and take the win.
8th February 2010 - Tour of Qatar Stage 2 (Al Zubarah-Doha Golf Club)
Boasson Hagen takes home his maiden victory in Doha as Team Sky dominate the standings
Edvald Boasson Hagen won his first victory for Team Sky, taking the sprint into Doha, after a superb lead-out by his team, ahead of Katusha's Danilo Napolitano and ISD CT's Denis Flahaut.
With wind speed of over 50km/h, the stage was always going to be difficult for the peleton, and it took a long time before a breakaway could form. Even then it was only 2 riders, and it only lasted for 18km, before it was caugt with over 30km to the finish.
As the finish approached, Team Sky took full control with Bradley Wiggins bringing the full lead-out train to the front, and letting Norwegian Champion Kurt-Asle Arvesen take over at the 4km to go mark. Behind there was total chaos, as a crash within the front 40 riders in the peleton occured, taking down many riders and their lead-out trains.
As the sprint started, Team Sky had a large advantage, and took an easy victory in the sprint, with many of the other GC favourites coming in in the Top 10.
Boasson Hagen showed his class to today to take the win
9th February 2010 - Tour of Qatar Stage 3 (Camel Race Track-Qatar Foundation)
Stage 3 is again a flat stage across the desert, from the Camal Race Track to the Qatar Foundation.
Like stage 2, the major problem for the riders is going to be wind, which could easily result in a peleton splitting up.
Riders to Watch: T. Boonen, M. Goss, E. Boasson Hagen, D. Napolitano My tip for the Stage: M. Goss. He finished strongly in stage 2 to take 4th, and I can see if the lead-out is right, he can take the stage.
9th February 2010 - Tour of Qatar Stage 3 (Camel Race Track-Qatar Foundation)
Boasson Hagen makes it two win out of two
Edvald Boasson Hagen won his second stage of the Tour of Qatar, taking the mass sprint ahead of Denis Flahaut of ISD CT and HTC's Matthew Goss, after an expert lead-out from his team.
The stage began under grey clouds, a big contrast from the sunshine and clear skies from the day before, and the peleton knew it was going to be a very difficult day.
A break of 15 riders finally got away in the driving rain, gaining a maximum of 6'11" over the chasing pack. Wind speeds of 64km/h made the chase down that little more difficult for the peleton, but thanks to a lot of work by Team Sky, the break was caught at the 12km mark.
With a mass sprint now inevitable, Team Sky got themselves organised very well, setting up Boasson Hagen for the stage win. It was again another disappointing day for Quick-Step rider Tom Boonen, who despite a good lead-out from his team, was unable to even compete in the final sprint.
10th February 2010 - Tour of Qatar Stage 4 (Khalifa Stadium-Al Khor Corniche)
Stage 4 takes the peleton from the Khalifa Stadium, the National Stadium of Qatar, to the northern city of Al Khor Corniche.
Following the driving rain and wind from yesterday, the peleton will be hoping for a more gentler day as they travel through the desert.
Riders to Watch: E. Boasson Hagen, M. Goss, D. Flahaut, J.J. Rojas My tip for the Stage: D. Flahaut. The young Frenchman from the ISD Continental Team has been the surprise package so far, with two 2nd place finishes behind Boasson Hagen. I can see him going one better today and taking the stage.
I realised a while ago that i hadn't posted them, but it was halfway through the Tour Down Under when I did realise lol
