Final day of the Qatar Airways Cycle Classic 2013. We left Doha to celebrate this race in Al Sheenaya.
We are searching for the overall winner of this Qatar Crits Series and there are several riders with the chance to be the one:
Hossein Nateghi (19 pts) took the lead by winning yesterday's race and Tyler Day (17) proved to be a consistent scorer. Assan Basayev (15), Leonid Krasnov (12) and Georgos Tzortzakis (11) hold good chances as well.
Same goes for the Malaysian sprinters Ahmad Haidar Anuawar (10) and Anuar Manan (10), even though they would need a total fail by Nateghi, Day and Basayev to grab the overall win here.
Nikita Umerbekov (Astana) and Behnam Khalilikhosroshani (Tabriz) are the first to break free from the pack.
They are joined by Roman Senyenov (Kazakh) and Neofytos Sakellaridis (Hellas), quickly establishing a 1'30"-gap and building the first breakaway.
Halfway through the race, it looks like we won't see too much action today: the peloton ain't chasing too hard and allows the escapees to build a 4'30"-lead.
For the first time here in Qatar, we have no mid-stage attackers. Maybe it's the wind (50kph)? Anyway, RusVelo and Team Nippo now start to work harder for the chase.
We're already in the final lap (!) and still haven't seen more action yet. The early escapees work well together and maintain a 1'15"-lead with now only 4.8km to go!
And finally we have some more attacks: like yesterday, Aleksandr Mironov (Katusha) won't wait for a bunch-sprint. He soloes away and Ho-Ting Kwok (Nippo) tries to jump behind.
It seems like the early escapees now pay for working one hour against the crosswinds, as Mironov easily bridged the gap and passes the group quickly. Kwok struggles to gap the bunch, which took Mironov's move as a sign to pace hard.
Therefore it's another empty-handed try by Mironov. Team RusVelo leads the bunch down the stretch and Mironov is soon to be caught with 2km remaining!
There's again only one sprint-train: Porsev leads-out Leonid Krasnov and Denis Galimzyanov (RusVelo). Azizulhasni Awang (Terengganu) is in perfect position, with Assan Basayev and Hossein Nateghi right behind, just as Tzortzakis, Anuawar and Manan.
Porsev worked hard for his captain Krasnov, who now makes his final punch. Awang is still at his wheel, while Galimzyanov moves forward on his own.
On the left side, it's Basayev with his acceleration, while Tzortzakis, Nateghi, his teammate Mahdi Sohrabi and Anuawar are already a bike length in arrears.
Krasnov looks strong today, Awang got knocked off his wheel and won't sprint for the win. Basayev is now the fastest, but can he bridge the gap with the finish-line already in sight?
He's coming closer..
..but too late. Leonid Krasnov takes his first win here. Somehow deserved, as his team did most of the work today. Basayev finishes 2nd and collects important 10 points. Tzortzakis grabs his first podium as 3rd.
Awang collects his first points as strong 4th and Sohrabi surprisingly sprints for 5th place, beating his captain Nateghi (8th), who loses the lead in overall rankings here!
And just as Nateghi, Tyler Day has his first day off here, finishing 10th (still beating Abdallah, who comes in 11th).
And as we now take a look at Qatar Cycle Classic's final classification, we see that Basayev's 10 points today (25 in total) secured his overall win! Krasnov (24) finishes 2nd and Nateghi (22) completes the podium.
Georgos Tzortzakis consisently scored on all days, which gives him a well deserved 4th, just ahead of Tyler Day. The pre-race leader of the Crits Series-overall ranking, Cherif Abdallah, disappointed with only 2 points here.
Hossein Nateghi (19 pts) took the lead by winning yesterday's race and 
Tyler Day (17) proved to be a consistent scorer. 
Assan Basayev (15), 
Leonid Krasnov (12) and 
Georgos Tzortzakis (11) hold good chances as well.
Ahmad Haidar Anuawar (10) and Anuar Manan (10), even though they would need a total fail by Nateghi, Day and Basayev to grab the overall win here.
Abdelmalek Madani
