Stage 4: Camel Race Track - Al Khor Corniche (157.2km)
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Ladies and gentlemen, we are back for the second half of the 2020 Tour of Qatar! At least for two riders, the race starts at zero again after the first three stages - except that they are already a good amount of (bonus) seconds away from the rest - we're talking about GC leader Grosu and his closest rival Degenkolb.
The lead has changed after each stage so far - will we see the same happen again today? We'll find out after what will be the longest stage of the race! Once again, the direct path would be much shorter - just about 60 kilometers. Well, the riders will have to do almost 100,000 additional meters...
The stage will take off in Al-Shahaniya, where we find Qatar's most famous camel race track. But instead of sitting between two humps, the riders will have their saddle between two wheels - which they'll need to get going by their own strength.
As you can see from today's course map, the road will lead the riders in wild zigzags towards Al Khor Corniche, close to yesterday's start location at Qatar's East coast. In between, more than 150 flat kilometers, containing two intermediate sprints again: In Umm Al Qahab after 45.9km, and with less than 30km remaining in Aumm Thenaitain Farm.
With that many changes of the course direction, a decent breeze would have added a lot of fun today - but no. Partly clouded weather, no rain - perfect conditions for a calm stage. Or not? We'll see.
The sprinters will definitely hope for an uneventful stage with a perfectly prepared finale - let's see if they get it. If so, we have the usual names on top of the favorites list: Van Stayen, Degenkolb and Coquard, followed by Ahlstrand, Bewley and GC leader Grosu. Howard, Swift, Vanderbiest and Kennaugh take the remaining spots - meaning that from the GC Top 10 we're missing Holloway, Groenewegen and Kemboi on the list today.
Let's jump straigt to the start line to find out if this list is worth the bytes it takes to write it down!
Once more, some riders are very impatient and don't even wait until the official has finished waving the start flag, meaning they might have a hard time passing through all those vehicles.
First on the attack today are Tarvis, Laporte, Schäppi and Van Baarle.
Ji and Reckweg are trying to join the fun, chasing the leading foursome.
Culey tries to escape as well, but Van Hooydonck and Arissol veto his attempt. Still 6 riders ahead then.
Pelikan, Gradek and Kortsidakis want to try their luck, too, but Arissol easily stays amidst of them, probably even smiling at them while saying "It ain't even worth trying, I'm stronger than you all!".
Someone else seems to be not very amused by the current leading group of six - and that's the DS of Aker - MOT. Or maybe they're just doing an in-race training session for the upcoming Copenhagen - Malmö TTT?
Well, it really doesn't come as a surprise that Yzeiraj attacks after the preparation work done by his team. He's sandwiched by Daniel and Tennant.
But you guess who doesn't even need both hands on the bar to get them back... of course, it's Arissol once again. I guess some riders will see him in their wildest nightmares after this race...
And yet another attacker who is chased down by the same man. This time it's Manakov. If Arissol keeps a book about all the breakaway trials he destroyed, it will be full in no time!
Ah, here he finally is! Arashiro decides to attack a little later today, after 40 kilometers. Sagiv tries to catch his wheel, but to no avail.
In the meantime, the breakaway has already reached the first intermediate sprint, which is won by the only decent sprinter in the group, Laporte.
1. Laporte - 6
2. Schäppi - 4
3. Tarvis - 2
Arashiro trails by 39", the bunch is five seconds further down. Yeah, five. I guess it's just because Arissol is taking a break, else there wouldn't be a gap anymore.
It's actually Aker - MOT and Gazelle who have joined forces now - but Arashiro is currently faster than these two teams taking turns... Nonetheless, he hasn't even closed half of the gap to the leaders yet.
And he even gives up a few meters later and is then quickly reeled in.
At least Gazelle get something from their work, as Teunissen is the next one to attack. And he closes the one-minute gap to the front in no time!
Well, it's not necessarily just due to him being strong, but also because the leaders are already pretty much cooked. And so, when the Dutchman arrives up front, the gap is down to 36"...
Well, you can't say that this team's morale is low - at least not yet. Many unsuccessful tries, and they're still chasing. Aker - MOT at least get some help again, this time by Team Puma - SAP.
And without much of a surprise, it's riders from these teams attacking next: Sagiv and Yzeiraj. Just like Teunissen, they reach the front group in no time.
The pack, now led by Ballerini, Van Hooydonck, Galdoune, Bax, Zoidl and Salzmann, is one minute behind.
You thought the race would calm down now? Well, not today. As the bunch keeps pushing, the front group needs to do so as well - dropping Teunissen, Tarvis, Van Baarle and Schäppi in the process.
This means that currently only Yzeiraj, Sagiv, Ji, Reckweg and Laporte remain up front. 45" ahead of the pack.
Ballerini seals the four distanced escapee's fate. And the race was so fast and action-loaded that we're already less than 50 kilometers away from the finish line!
The front quintet is just 34" away, so we don't even bother looking at them more closely now - they definitely won't make it - or is everyone so tired by now that there's no real chase to close that 34" gap?
The gap is down to 20 seconds - and not yet closed, but bridged by Per! With the intermediate sprint just 1,500m away, his intention seems to be clear...
But even though his idea was great, he apparently used too much power to bridge the gap, taking only 3rd at the second intermediate sprint:
1. Laporte - 6
2. Reckweg - 4
3. Per - 2
Which means that Arashiro will remain ahead of Per in the U25 standings - except if the pack doesn't catch the group!
Let's make it short: The breakaway is over with 27km to go. Dzamastagic has drastically upped the pace, causing even a gap to appear towards the rear of the pack. The likes of Pedersen, Moser, Van Poppel or Goss are caught behind - leadout riders or second- to third-tier sprinters. Nothing to really care about.
Anyway, the gap is closed again. and with 10km remaining, we have a very well-known picture: ISA - Hexacta have come to the front, joined by Moser - Sygic. No Festina - OAKA shirts today (at least not towards the front), but an Aegon - Peroni train seems to be set up for once!
All the fast guys are close to the front now - let's hope none of them misses out on the final sprint today!
It's a similar view 5,000m later. No really well-defined sprinter trains yet, but we're pretty sure ISA - Hexacta and Moser - Sygic will set them up soon - at least there are plenty of riders from these two teams in the first positions!
Many other sprinters have one domestique left: Bauhaus for Groenewegen (so no complete train once again), Blythe and Chavanne close to Van Stayen, Bouglas for Coquard, Lampaert for Grosu, Menten for Kemboi - and then there are Swift and Silvestre, this time with Aular between the two sprinters. Let's see if they have learnt something...
Holloway, Ahlstrand, Kennaugh and Howard are on their own, but they're used to be so. Nielsen and Leung are in the mix once again. Vanderbiest is a bit further back - he might want to move up some positions soon...
3,000m to go, and the trains have been set up as expected. Well, at least Degenkolb's train, as Bewley is straying in the middle of the road. Not much else has changed - except for Appollonio having made his way and now leading out Ahlstrand.
Wow, that's an acceleration! With 2.1km remaining, the Volvo duo shoots out of the pack with an incredible speed and instantly gets a gap!
On the other side of the road, the two trains are completely interleaved, with Granjel Cabrera ahead of Petit and Degenkolb, who has Bewley in his wheel! Swift and Holloway have got a great position, too, whereas Kennaugh is in the wind very early in the middle of the road. Let's see how it all unfolds on the next 1,000 meters!
It's a completely messy situation, to be honest! The only constant is that Petit does a nice leadout for Degenkolb, whereas all others are scattered all over the place. Ahlstrand is on his own now as well.
As it's really confusing, let's try to get an overview of the whole thing:
Petit
Ahlstrand
Degenkolb
Kennaugh
Swift
Bewley
Soupe
Howard
Appollonio
Granjel Cabrera
Kemboi
Andersen
Van Stayen
Nielsen
Holloway
Leung
Grosu
Silvestre
Groenewegen
Coquard
The only thing we can say for sure is that we won't see a duel Swift - Silvestre today. And yesterday's winner Coquard is horribly positioned once again, even worse than GC leader Grosu who is in big danger of losing his jersey!
And where is Vanderbiest? Well, you guess it... Not where he should be.
Has there been a stage where Degenkolb has not been ahead for at least some time? Well, today he is, as he takes the lead with 700m to go! Ahlstrand, who launched his sprint very early, is still looking good, too!
However, Kennaugh and Swift are closing in fast, as are Bewley and Howard. Van Stayen and Kemboi lead the next "group", ahead of Andersen and Holloway. Grosu is trying to close the gap, as are Coquard and Groenewegen - a hard task for sure!
Degenkolb is still leading with 500m to go - that guy is just insanely strong! However, it's looking pretty good for Swift and Bewley, too - but let's take another look at the whole situation:
Degenkolb
Bewley
Swift
Ahlstrand
Howard
Soupe
Kennaugh
Petit
Kemboi
Andersen
Holloway
Van Stayen
Grosu
Nielsen
Leung
Coquard
Groenewegen
Uh-oh, this time Degenkolb is clearly fading - just like on stage one! Instead, a very strong Bewley has hit the front and is leading about one bike length ahead of Swift!
Kemboi is about to pass Degenkolb, too - a podium for the rising star would be an incredibly strong result today!
But he isn't quite there yet, as Howard is pretty strong, too, while Kennaugh is clearly fading as well. Holloway is moving fast, and Andersen is still able to stay at the same level! Grosu has now joined the fun, too, and may actually still have a shot at defending his jersey!
Ahlstrand is falling further and further back, whereas it seems as if Van Stayen doesn't really have the legs today. Coquard still hasn't passed Nielsen, whereas Groenewegen is even further behind, followed by Silvestre.
Just 200 meters to go, and Bewley still seems to be extending his lead! It looks like we have a very clear winner today - but the race isn't over!
Swift and Kemboi are trying to catch the Kiwi, but it looks as if they'd come short. Degenkolb has definitely mistimed his sprint and must be happy to stay inside the Top 10 today!
On the other hand, Holloway seems to put all of yesterday's frustration into his sprint and is still moving at an amazing speed, about to leave Howard behind.
Grosu is now about to pass Andersen, and should still be in the fight for a Top 5, whereas Coquard might even miss out on a Top 10 result today!
With 100m to go, the race seems to be run - at least for the stage win! Kemboi has now left Swift behind, moving up to 2nd - and Holloway is about to claim the final podium spot, having drawn level with Swift!
Degenkolb is still 5th, but most of those around him are currently faster - including Andersen, who is the biggest surprise today! Howard will have to fight hard to defend his spot against the Dane!
And Grosu? It almost seems like he put all he had into catching up with the others, and he doesn't seem to have a lot left in the tank! He'll definitely have to overtake Degenkolb to keep his jersey - but the biggest danger right now clearly comes from Bewley!
Furthermore, Van Stayen has now overtaken Kennaugh, and seems to be in the mix for a Top 5 result as well.
Uh-oh, maybe it was too early to declare Bewley today's winner? Holloway is closing in very, very fast and definitely has a much higher speed now - will he run out of road?
Kemboi still holds on to 3rd, and he seems to be stronger than Swift! Behind these two, Van Stayen, Degenkolb, Howard, Andersen and Grosu are all fighting for a Top 5 result!
The finish line just came in time for Sam Bewley to win stage number 4 of the 2020 Tour of Qatar! After a really messy sprint preparation, he got the best out of it and seemed like today's clear winner until Dan Holloway with an amazing sprint came dangerously close - but the US-American finally has to settle for 2nd. Nonetheless, it's another great result for a man who was riding in CT a year ago!
Kemboi is still 3rd - but Swift and Van Stayen aren't very far away - who gets the final podium spot?
It's Salem Kemboi! The Kenyan is pretty much the opposite of those two ahead of him - he's still U25, while the others have already declined - and he's a PCT rider! What a great result for him!
4th goes to Michael Van Stayen, who outsprints Ben Swift on the final meters.
And it really looks like Andersen could get an amazing 6th place - or can Howard, Degenkolb or Grosu still edge him out?
They can't, and Soren Kragh Andersen indeed gets a great 6th place - which might be worth even a lot more than a few points, given that he's the top favorite for the closing stage!
But we aren't there yet, and quite some bonus seconds are still at stake - today, Leigh Howard gets some by claiming another 7th place (the 2nd in a row), ahead of John Degenkolb. Eduard Grosu, 9th today, therefore loses his leader jersey for the second time - but to whom?
Geoffrey Soupe rounds off a great day for Moser - Sygic by claiming the final spot in the Top 10. Peter Kennaugh had another disappointing day, as he lands outside the bonus second spots.
And now, look at this: Joanis Albert Nielsen finishes ahead of yesterday's winner Bryan Coquard, who has to settle for an underwhelming 13th place. But the "underwhelming" predicate holds as well for Jonas Ahlstrand, who will definitely have a talk with Appollonio tonight - who did a completely failed sprint leadout!
Dylan Groenewegen won't be any happier, either, and Fabio Silvestre clearly loses the battle against his teammate today. Adrien Petit and Chun Wing Leung are the final riders in this front group, claiming 17th and 18th.
And then, there's this picture. We can see Davide Appollonio winning the leadout duel against Raul Granjel Cabrera; these two take the final spots in the Top 20. But much more important is the question what the judges will be doing about these gaps? Clearly, they can't award the same time to everyone, can they?
We'll find out. In each case, it's time to take a big breather before moving on to the victory ceremony. And to look back at what we just saw.
One thing is for sure: there aren't enough Top 10 spots for all those great sprinters, so some always leave empty-handed. But if they can't even beat riders like Andersen and Soupe - or even Kemboi, who definitely isn't among the very fastest men yet, too - they have got to ask some serious questions about their teams' sprint preparation. Many failed at this task today, even those who did well yesterday. Let's see who learns their lessons from today's failure.
But we'll see as well who will be able to copy-paste their successful strategy on tomorrow's final sprinter stage. For now, let's celebrate those who did well today - the victory ceremony is about to start!
And the winner is - Sam Bewley! It's his 6th stage win here in Qatar, and he clearly shows his opponents that he's still competing at top level, despite his age kicking in! His team once more did a great job on the final 20 kilometers, even though the final sprint preparations were subpar. But with all those years of experience, he made the best out of it - the stage win!
2nd place goes to Dan Holloway, who was clearly the strongest rider on the final meters - but his lack of team support may have cost him the win today. He just didn't have the position he would have needed to beat a very strong Bewley. Nonetheless, he can definitely be happy with another great stage result - and a very good GC position, as we'll see later.
Salem Kemboi takes the final step on the podium. The PCT rider benefitted from many of the stronger sprinters having a really bad position today - and then he just perfectly timed his sprint! This result brings him into a great position in the GC - can he even win this race?
By the way, the officials finally decided - to give everyone the same time. A strange decision, but one that will be a big relief for most of the strong time trialists who were in the rear part of the pack.
And the stage winner is our new GC leader as well! With his consistent results, Sam Bewley leaves behind John Degenkolb by 5 seconds and Eduard Grosu and Dan Holloway by 7 seconds.
Being a decent time trialists, this seems like a comfortable situation - but with Salem Kemboi sitting in 5th place, just 19" down, we can be prepared for a very interesting final stage. However, let's not forget that we'll have another sprint stage tomorrow - with many more bonus seconds at stake!
We don't really understand why, but the points jersey is awarded to John Degenkolb. Sam Bewley has the exact same number of points - 60 - and the better stage results, so the jersey actually belongs to him. But as the German will wear it tomorrow anyway, it's good to have a picture of him actually.
Eduard Grosu is 3rd, just 3 points behind the leading duo - anything is still possible!
Salem Kemboi is one of today's big winners - and there's pretty much no more doubt about him winning the U25 standings. He has extended the lead to 26", so even if David Per or Yudai Arashiro - his closest rivals - should win tomorrow's stage from a bunch sprint, he'd still keep the jersey.
In terms of team standings, the organizers still have pretty original ideas, which we're not really found of. All teams still have the same total time - and the two best teams now even have the same tie-breaker value! So we have a joint lead by ISA - Hexacta and Moser - Sygic, clearly the most dominant teams of this race. 3rd place goes to Grieg-Maersk.
This illustrates pretty well what an amazingly tense race we have once again! A lot of riders could still win it, by getting a great result tomorrow - let's see who can put his name on the winners list in 24 hours!
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