Hello again from Qatar, and welcome to the final chance for the sprinters to take a stage win, or to improve their situation going into the final, the decisive stage tomorrow!
After the rather bad experience from last year with a sharp turn on the final 1,500m, MGUCI have insisted on reworking the parcours - and the stage has finally gotten 1.8km longer, making it more than 3km of straight, wide roads to the finish line.
Straight line, that's more or less what will happen on the first 50km of the race - South to North, Sealine Beach Resort to Doha, Qatar's capital. The start location was founded by Qatar Petroleum, being the country's first deepwater port used as a tanker terminal.
Given the shortness of the stage, there will be only one intermediate sprint, after 29km in Al Wakra, which is about half-way between start and finish line. However, once arrived in Doha, the riders will have to do 11 laps on a 6.5km circuit, before hitting said home stretch on the final 3.5km.
Once again, there's no wind today, so everything is set up for a last Sprint Royal. Of course, everyone will want to shine, but for those who are decent but not really strong in the final TT, it's also a matter of securing a good GC result. Especially Coquard and Kemboi will mainly focus on not losing too much time, whereas most others need to gain as many bonus seconds as possible - let's see who takes it today!
The favorites list is once again a who-is-who of the best PT sprinters - not having enough space for all of them (but still including a PCT rider). The bookies' list is again featuring Van Stayen, Degenkolb and Coquard on top, with Ahlstrand, Swift and Howard coming next. Grosu, current leader Bewley, Kennaugh and Groenewegen round off the Top 10.
That's all that needs to be said. Ready - steady - go!
Some riders again take this very literally, with the start banner still in sight as Videika is the first to attack. Daniel, Laporte and Boom are joining him in this adventure.
But four attackers ain't enough, of course. Vermeltfoort, Naud, Bohli, Tarvis, Kasperkiewicz and Van Baarle are next.
And what would be a stage without an attack by Arashiro? Boring. At least for him. So he adds some action.
But Weinstein and half of the Gazelle team aren't too happy about the current situation, meaning that the Japanese is caught soon after. The gap to the 10 front-runners is 32".
Arashiro doesn't slow down, though. He's probably thinking that if he isn't allowed to break away, nobody should be. Needless to say that the chasers are faster than the leaders with this locomotive pulling them.
Once Arashiro is done, Ji takes over, bringing the gap down to less than 30" with 5km to go until today's sole intermediate sprint. Will the sprinters take that one, or will the escapees hold on?
It's the latter, as Van Baarle wins the sprint ahead of the group's (theoretically) best sprinter.
The acceleration due to the sprint makes the advantage jump back up to 45". Still not much, though. 90km to go, about 20km until the riders reach Doha.
Yet another acceleration, this time by Zakarin. But then, Arissol decides that the kids have been playing enough and neutralizes all previous attacks. Therefore we restart the race with the peloton at full strength with less than 90km to the finish line.
Of course, having no breakaway isn't an option for several teams, and Politt is the first one trying to change that again.
To no avail, however, as many others try to attack - and good ol' Arissol shuts down all attempts again.
The boys are still testing if the Seychellois will finally tire out. The next wave of attacks is led by Per, who is followed by Teunissen, Zakarin, Van Baarle and Yzeiraj. There's another group of four ahead of the peloton, consisting of Politt, Cheung, Bohli and De Gendt - but guess who's hot on their heels and about to catch the four latest attackers... Sure, you're right.
We have now reached Doha, and up front you can see the final sharp turn of the circuit, with about 3.5km to the finish line. The riders can see the red kite - but will turn before, to do this 6.5km circuit 11 times.
Race-wise, Zakarin was unable to keep up, and just as he's reeled in, we get the next attack by Weinstein.
There it is straight ahead, the beautifully wide finish stretch - but for now it's time to add some laps for the leading quartet. With all the chaos until now, do you remeber who they are? We'll help you: Yzeiraj, Per, Teunissen and Van Baarle.
Weinstein is 45" back, the pack is 15 additional seconds behind. And easily catches the German.
Generali don't seem to be too happy about having missed out on the breakaway, so they chase with more than half of their team. So the question isn't whether they are preparing an attack, but rather who will attack?
It's De Gendt, who bridges the gap to the front in no time. Zoidl doesn't really care, setting a solid, but not a very fast pace back in the bunch. Van Hooydonck, Tanfield and Bauhaus are assisting him.
The sprinter teams definitely have everything under control, and they're taking fair shares of the workload. Verschaeve, Menten and Salzmann for Kemboi, Farantakis, Bouglas and Zoidl for Coquard, and Bauhaus, Ballerini and Van Hooydonck for Groenewegen. Tanfield is taking a turn now or then, too.
We have just 40 kilometers to go, with a 40" gap to the front.
Weinstein and Zakarin have jumped to the front as well, but with 22km left, Bouglas sets an end to all these fruitless attempts. The stage is set for the sprinters!
At least, that's what we thought! After a tremendous acceleration by Dzamastagic, gaps have opened in the peloton, which have led the Evonik train to stop pushing - a great opportunity for an attack, gladly taken by Thomas!
Politt tries to benefit from the confusion in the pack as well. He trails Thomas by 20 seconds and leads the main group by 30" - could that work out with 19km to go?
Well, no. Whereas we are definitely used to a strong presence of ISA - Hexacta jerseys up front, they get some help by Volvo and Berg Cycles today - do the PCT riders have a clear plan for once?
10 kilometers to the line - just one lap to go!
It's still pretty much the same picture as we head onto the final five kilometers. But if you look at this group, you can see that there aren't many riders left up front - just about 50 of them!
While we have all top sprinters bar Vanderbiest (who else?) up front, many TT specialists are caught behind, which may cost them dearly! Can they close the 40" gap on the final 5,000 meters?
Now we're on the straight wide road, as we hit the 3,000m mark. Trains are being set up by ISA - Hexacta, Volvo and Berg Cycles today, but all top sprinters are well positioned for once - which lets us hope for a huge finale!
Behind, we can still see quite a big gap, with an Indosat rider trying to close it. Will it be too late?
2,000 meters remaining - and there's just one proper train today! Amazingly, it's Berg Cycles setting it up, with Silvestre this time doing great work for Swift!
Let's actually get an overview of the situation:
Petit
Degenkolb
Van Stayen
Holloway
Appollonio
Silvestre
Ahlstrand
Kennaugh
Kupfernagel
Swift
Groenewegen
Howard
Grosu
Beukeboom
Bouglas
Coquard
Kemboi
Nielsen
Bewley
Leung
Andersen
Which means that GC leader Bewley, U25 leader Kemboi and top favorite Coquard are those having messed up most with their positioning - meaning Bewley's jersey might well be in danger today!
Red kite! Apparently, Degenkolb's leadout was too slow for Van Stayen, as he's already taken the lead! It might be a bit early, but who knows?
Let's have another look at the current positions:
Van Stayen
Appollonio
Kupfernagel
Degenkolb
Petit
Ahlstrand
Swift
Holloway
Kennaugh
Howard
Groenewegen
Grosu
Bouglas
Coquard
Bewley
Kemboi
Silvestre
Andersen
Nielsen
Leung
A great leadout today by Appollonio for Ahlstrand, let's see where it takes the Swede!
This picture may not please a lot of managers, as it shows a clear gap between the 20 front riders and the first chasing group - which is actually led by Chavanne, one of those who would be most concerned if a gap was really given!
And while we see Chavanne trying to close said gap now, his teammate Van Stayen is still up front - but with a very slim margin on Swift! Degenkolb and Howard are slightly behind, with Groenewegen, Ahlstrand and Holloway in the next line.
Kennaugh is pulling Grosu closer to the front, whereas a fading Kupfernagel might block the road for Coquard, who has left behind his leadout, too. Bewley and Kemboi are almost side-by-side, but pretty far back already!
700 meters to the line!
We have reached the final 500 meters, and Swift is our new leader! He's just a few inches ahead of Van Stayen, Degenkolb and Howard. Groenewegen and Holloway are trying to take the outmost lanes to overtake those ahead of them.
Ahlstrand seems to struggle, despite the great leadout he got! Kennaugh and Grosu are currently moving fastest - let's see where it takes them!
Swift is still ahead, but we have four riders more or less at the same level, with Holloway, Howard and Groenewegen challenging for today's win as well!
Degenkolb and Van Stayen definitely launched their sprint too early, being now overtaken by Ahlstrand and Kennaugh! Grosu tries to overtake the Brit - but there's actually not much space to do so!
Further behind, Coquard has finally passed Kupfernagel, but is clearly too far away - the same holds for Bewley, who is even sitting behind Bouglas! And Kemboi? He's behind two more leadout riders, way to go for him!
There are just 200 meters left, as Groenewegen takes the lead with an amazing acceleration! He leads ahead of Holloway, who's doing a great job once again!
Behind, we have Howard, Swift and Ahlstrand - who has finally woken up - shoulder by shoulder! Kennaugh and Grosu are trying to find a breach to squeeze through, as they seem to be able to go even faster!
Degenkolb and Van Stayen have dropped to 8th and 9th - let's see if they even lose the Top 10 spot that seemed to be safe 800m back!
With 100m to go, Groenewegen is still in the lead, but Ahlstrand is really on fire now, closing in inch by inch! Holloway has dropped to 3rd, with Howard and Grosu now fighting for this spot shoulder by shoulder!
Swift has a lot of free room ahead, but he doesn't seem to be able to have much left, whereas Kennaugh would like to push, but can't find the space he needs!
Further behind, Coquard is closing in on Van Stayen and Degenkolb, with Bewley doing so as well. Amazingly, Bouglas is actually moving faster than his captain - he definitely shouldn't overtake him!
With 50m left, Groenewegen still leads pretty comfortably over Ahlstrand, while Holloway is just a few inches ahead of Kennaugh, who has somehow squeezed in between Howard and Grosu!
Swift is fading and has to hope to keep his 7th place now, while Bewley has passed Van Stayen and tries to do the same with Degenkolb - it might secure his lead, actually!
What an acceleration by Kennaugh! Within just a few meters, he has passed both Holloway and Ahlstrand and is even challenging Groenewegen now!
Grosu is blocked behind the slightly fading Dutchman, a fact that Howard might benefit from, together with Swift!
Bewley has finally found his speed - but it's probably too late to get more than 8th place out of it! Coquard can't hold his wheel, but is ahead of Degenkolb and Van Stayen now, with Bouglas almost side-by-side with the French champion now!
Incredible! Peter Kennaugh gets his 3rd Qatar stage win with an absolutely stunning finish, pipping Dylan Groenewegen to the line! The Dutchman actually let go of his handlebars - he didn't want to celebrate, did he?
Yes, he did! I guess that's a perfect example of being Zabel'd, right? What a rookie mistake by Groenewegen!
Behind the Top 2, Ahlstrand easily claims 3rd ahead of Dan Holloway, who narrowly edges out Eduard Grosu - which actually means the US veteran will be our new race leader!
Leigh Howard gets another 6th place - he was surely the most regular rider, with three 6th and two 7th places - but unfortunately, that isn't worth too much...
Which holds for Ben Swift as well, who despite a great leadout only gets 7th place today, ahead of (now former) race leader Sam Bewley.
Behind, Coquard, Degenkolb and Van Stayen are fighting for the final Top 10 spots - and therefore some minor bonus seconds!
Bryan Coquard claims the 9th place - another disappointing result. Yeah, we're writing the same stuff every day, except for stage 3 which he won.
But at least, his teammate Georgios Bouglas does the best he can, taking 10th and therefore stealing the final bonus second from John Degenkolb. Michael Van Stayen finishes 12th, ahead of Fabio Silvestre, Danilo Kupfernagel and Salem Kemboi.
Which means that the three strongest sprinters - on paper - only got 9th, 11th and 12th today - time for some profound analysis and tactical education, I guess!
Berg Cycles were by far the strongest team today, with three riders in the Top 14 - but if the best result is a 7th place, that's not really a reason to celebrate. Nonetheless, it was a strong showing by the PCT team - and a clear signal to their competitors one level down!
Just for the sake of completeness, let's take a look at the remaining Top 20 riders:
16. Soren Kragh Andersen
17. Adrien Petit
18. Davide Appollonio
19. Joanis Albert Nielsen
20. Chun Wing Leung
And you can see Chavanne further back, who eventually finishes 21st - was he able to get close enough for no gaps to be given?
The answer is Yes - which isn't a surprise, looking at the judges' previous rulings this year. Which is definitely great for all those time trialists caught behind, as they now have a decent chance of getting a good overall result!
We'll talk about the overall standings later, and especially tomorrow before the start of the epilogue, but now let's head over to the victory ceremony!
Where we celebrate the 5th different winner in as many stages - Peter Kennaugh! Sure, he did have a great position with one kilometer to go, but until 100m from the line it looked like he was caught behind two competitors. But he somehow found a gap and sprinted to glory - well done!
Of course, he definitely benefitted from Dylan Groenewegen feeling secure and not pushing until the end - which was punished by a last-second loss of the stage win! That's a 2nd place that won't be celebrated tonight, but one that definitely hurts!
Jonas Ahlstrand completes today's podium. After a great leadout by Appollonio, he somehow looked empty - but finally found his speed, leaving almost everyone behind and finishing 3rd. Definitely a good result, even though he surely was hoping to win this stage!
4th place today was enough for Dan Holloway to take the GC lead - what a fairy tale for the US sprinter who won the CT individual standings last year, then got an unexpected PT contract - and now is only one stage away from a sensational win!
And what a great story for EA Vesuvio, a team that failed having a single rider inside the Top 50 last year - and is now one step away from winning the same race just 12 months later!
However, it will be a very, very tough task for the new GC leader. Sam Bewley is just one second behind, and last year's winner Eduard Grosu trails by two seconds. These three have pretty much the same level when it comes down to short ITTs, with the first two however having a much better physical condition. But between this trio, it will probably simply come down to daily form.
The first slightly stronger time trialist is last year's runner-up Dylan Groenewegen sitting in 5th place - but it seems unlikely that he'll gain more than 10" on the leading trio. John Degenkolb in 4th will probably rather go the other way in the standings.
But the biggest danger - and by far! - is definitely Salem Kemboi in 9th place. He is 24" behind the leader - a gap he might be able to close, especially given that the time trial will be 500m longer than last year. Even Bryan Coquard in 11th place (28" down) shouldn't be ruled out in terms of podium fight - we'll have an incredible tense race for sure! And we're looking forward to it!
But for now, let's move on with the celebrations - and let's cheer on Eduard Grosu, who takes over the points jersey from John Degenkolb's shoulders! The Romanian leads by one tiny point ahead of Sam Bewley, four points ahead of Degenkolb and five ahead of Dan Holloway - an incredibly close result!
And given that we don't expect any of these riders to get a Top 15 result tomorrow, it may well be the final result - only Coquard or Kemboi might still take over that 3rd place. But we'll see...
One thing that's definitely for sure is that if Salem Kemboi doesn't fall off his bike tomorrow, he'll easily win the U25 jersey. He still leads 26" ahead of Yudai Arashiro and David Per, having missed out on bonus seconds today.
But the white jersey definitely isn't his goal - he wants to get the yellow one tomorrow, and he's got a real shot at it!
And you know it, the organizers and the team standings, that won't ever be a love story. Nonetheless, ISA - Hexacta take back the exclusive lead, finishing 20 ranking points better than Moser - Sygic today. Today's best team Berg Cycles move up from 5th to 3rd - but the day of truth definitely is tomorrow.
That's it. The five sprinter stages are over. We have an incredibly tense fight on top of the GC, but the top favorite for the win probably is Kemboi in 9th place. Yesterday's podium finish might be worth a ton of money for him - but unfortunately no points. Still, the competition in PCT will be very, very worried by his fantastic performance here!
However, we shouldn't underestimate all the riders ahead of him, as they are all great athletes - and as long as we have a race, anything can happen! We're thrilled to see how it all ends - stay tuned for tomorrow's epic finale!
Tour of Qatar 
