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7th Tour of Qatar - 2.1
Qatar, January 27-February 1, 2008
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Stage 3 - January 29: Camel Race Track - Qatar Foundation, 147.5 km
No stopping Boonen
Belgian takes thirteenth stage win and fortifies lead
By Shane Stokes in Doha
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Showing the same kind of dominance he has displayed for the past two years, Tom Boonen today thundered in for a stage victory while wearing the gold jersey at the Tour of Qatar.
The Belgian outsprinted Danilo Napolitano (Lampre), Steven De Jongh (Quick Step) and Greg Van Avermaet (Silence-Lotto) at the end of the 147.5 kilometre stage to Qatar Foundation, taking two seconds out of Chris Sutton (Slipstream Chipotle - H30) and Jurgen Roelandts (Silence-Lotto), plus putting more time into the rest of the field.
In doing so, Boonen topped the victory podium for the third day running, adding to his success on stage two and the team time trial victory that the Quick Step riders landed on Sunday. It was also his thirteenth individual stage win in the race since 2004, further extending his record in the event.
After the presentation, the 27 year-old said that there was a certain amount of gambling going on Quick Step's part. At one point he was caught in the second bunch while Greg Van Avermaet (Silence-Lotto) and some of his other chief rivals were clear in a group of 21 riders. However with three from his own team there, he decided not to chase. This paid off when others in the peloton worked to bring back the move.
"Today was different than yesterday," he stated. "We were unable to control the stage. Maarten Tjallingii (Silence-Lotto) crashed at one point and I was caught in the second half of the group because of that. We had four guys up front so I told the team-mates around me to stop chasing. But nevertheless, our group came back and then I put everything into the sprint.
"The direction of the wind was different to yesterday, it was a headwind. That makes it difficult to control a stage. It is not about being strong, but about gambling and nervous racing. When the split happened De Jongh was up front and because he is second in GC, we had the advantage in that we can gamble a little."
The stage was marked by a brave, determined, but ultimately unsuccessful breakaway by Volodymir Diudia (Milram). The Ukrainian time trial champion attacked eight kilometres after the start, held off a chase by Omar Hasanin (Doha Team) in building a maximum lead of over 16 minutes, but was finally caught with just over 19 clicks to go. He had been out front for a total of 120 kilometres.
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"Time trials are good for me," he said after the finish. "I am the national time trial champion of my country. I thought at one point it might be possible to win, but Quick Step were strong."
Van Avermaet was aiming to win the stage and hoping to wrest the race leader's jersey from the shoulders of Tom Boonen. He was part of that 21 man breakaway that went clear in the second half of the race, but these were ultimately hauled back. He had placed third in the first intermediate sprint, netting a valuable bonus second, but then lost out when Boonen scooped ten more by winning the stage.
The young Belgian was fourth in the final gallop, crossing the line behind Boonen, Napolitano and De Jongh. He appeared to gesture angrily at the latter, although it wasn’t clear if he had been impeded or if he was simply frustrated to be pipped for the final bonus at the finish.
Either way, he appeared unhappy with how things turned out, stonewalling requests for a quote after the stage. He has the consolation of maintaining his lead in the best young rider competition, though, and carries a two second advantage over Chris Sutton into the fourth day of racing.
The Australian had been hoping to pick up a bonus himself, but things didn’t work out that way. He was part of the 21 man group that was ahead of Boonen, combining with three team-mates to try to maintain a good gap.
"There was a crash by a guy from [Silence] Lotto during the stage," he said. "It opened up a bit of a gap and Tom Boonen was caught behind it…I just managed to get through. The four of us – myself, Magnus [Backstedt], Dave [Millar] and Julian Dean ended up in the front group. A whole load of Quick Step guys were there but obviously they were not going to ride because Boonen had been caught behind.
"We rode pretty hard but never managed to stay away. They caught back up but it wasn't such a big group then. I just had to fight on to the finish, really."
He was then hoping for a top three place in the sprint but fell foul to some unsavoury tactics. "Coming up to the finish, one of the Lotto guys came past and chopped the sh*t out of me, putting me through the witches' hats [traffic cones]. But that is bike racing, I suppose.
"The sad thing was is that he came in and jumped on the guy in the young rider's jersey [Greg Van Avermaet], his team-mate, but then just sat up. He obviously did it on purpose. Without that, the sprint would have been a lot easier…being on that guy's wheel, I would have tried to come off it and get around him. Anyway, tomorrow is a different day, I will just try again."
How it unfolded
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The third stage began in what must be one of the world's most unusual settings for the start of a bike race, the Camel Race Track near Doha. The desert-like backdrop and countless dromedaries created an almost-surreal atmosphere, but also illustrated the diversity of races outside Europe.
At just after 12.15 am 131 riders lined out in sunny, warm conditions for the stage. Yesterday’s eyeballs-out pace had led to some very tired legs and when Volodymyr Diudia (Milram) clipped away after eight kilometres of racing, nobody stopped him going. Two clicks later he was 15 seconds ahead of one chaser, Danilo Wyss (BMC Racing Team), with the bunch ten seconds further back.
Wyss was caught soon afterwards, but then Omar Hasanin (Doha Team) took his place as the guy in no-man's land. After about 17 kilometres of racing into a headwind Diudia was 50 seconds ahead of him, with the peloton 1'25" in arrears. These gaps continued to grow; after one hour of racing, the leader reached his maximum advantage over the peloton of 16"10".
The roads were straight and completely open but because of the time gaps, there was no question of the pursuers being able to see those ahead. After 43 kilometres of racing there was a hard right turn and this changed the headwind into one more conducive to echelons. The hammer went down immediately and the peloton split into three groups, with Boonen and his Quick Step riders in the first one.
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Diudia and Hasanin were the first two over the line at the first intermediate sprint at Al Ghuwayriya, 52.5 kilometres after the start. Greg Van Avermaet (Silence-Lotto) nabbed third, moving a second closer to the race lead. At this point Hasanin was eight minutes back and the first part of the peloton was 12'30" down, with the other segments of the peloton all about to regroup. Hasanin too was absorbed, leaving just Diudia out front.
Approximately twelve kilometres before the feed zone (which came 80 clicks into the stage), the route made another hard turn to the right and swung south. This resulted in a strong tailwind and an acceleration of pace. There was some pushing and shoving in the bunch and Maarten Tjallinghi (Silence-Lotto) crashed. His fall wasn't serious but it caused a split in the head of the peloton, with race leader Boonen becoming stranded in the second part.
Once in the feed zone Diudia was continuing to lose time. At this point he was seven minutes ahead of the first group, which comprised 20 riders. These were Wilfried Cretskens, Steven De Jongh, Jurgen Van de Walle, Woulter Weylandt (Quick Step), David Millar, Magnus Backstedt, Julian Dean, Chris Sutton (Slipstream Chipotle H30), Maciej Bodnar, Matej Mugerli, Roberto Petito (Liquigas), Greg Van Avermaet, Leif Hoste, Jurgen Roelandts (Silence Lotto), Piet Rooijakkers, Tom Veelers (Skil-Shimano), Bernardo Riccio (Tinkoff Credit Systems), Angelo Furlan (Crédit Agricole), Luciano Pagliarini (Saunier Duval-Scott), Stuart Shaw (Drapac Porsche) and Omar Hasanin (Doha Team).
Van Avermaet had started the day third overall, 14 seconds behind Boonen, and he was keen to gain time. However the latter's team-mate Steven De Jongh was present in the group and as he had begun the stage second overall and had three team-mates as backup, Quick Step decided to gamble and not chase.
At the second intermediate sprint (Umm Suwaiya, 91.5km), Diudia again took maximum points. Several minutes later DeJongh and Sutton netted the bonuses for second and third.
The gap between the Van Avermaet and Boonen groups was over 20" but finally, with 114 kilometres covered, the peloton came back together. Diudia was only two minutes ahead at this point and his great escape was finally reeled in at kilometre 128, 19.5 kilometres from the finish.
Quick Step, Lampre and Silence-Lotto then kept things more or less together until the finish. Boonen's team were at the head of a large bunch as they headed towards the final kilometre, but on the technical run-in from there small gaps then opened in the peloton. Boonen, Napolitano, De Jongh, Van Avaermaet, Sutton and Roelandts were at the business end of things, though, and finished in that order.
It meant that the former world champion fortified his lead over the others, moving 13 and 23 seconds ahead of De Jongh and Van Avermaet respectively, and looking more and more secure in the race lead.
What's next
The riders travel 131.5 kilometres on stage four, a flat race from Khalifa Stadium to Al Khor Corniche. Covering many of the same roads as stage three, there are bonus sprints at Al Jemailiya (55km) and Umm Suwaiya (122km).
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by AFP Photo
- Tom Boonen (Quick Step) serving up a defeat dish to Italian sprinter Danilo Napolitano (Lampre).
- Belgian Tom Boonen (Quick Step) confirms his win.
- Tom Boonen (Quick Step) in yellow for a second time after claiming his second stage win in the Tour of Qatar.
Images by Shane Stokes/Cyclingnews
- The setting at the start of stage three was somewhat unusual .
- The village départ was the Camel Race Track about 50km from Doha.
- Roberto Petito (Lampre) films the dromedaries on his mobile phone.
- Tony Cruz (BMC Racing) signs on.
- Magnus Backstedt (Slipstream Chipotle - H30) interviewed by L'Equipe's Barbara Rumpus.
- Fumiyuki Beppu (Skil-Shimano) chats to Procycling's Ellis Bacon.
- Tom Boonen (Quick Step) gets a pre-stage massage.
- Eddy Merckx gets some vino in.
- Eddy Merckx is part of the race organisation here.
- Fumiyuki Beppu is with Skil-Shimano this year.
- Magnus Backstedt (Slipstream Chipotle - H30) waits for the start.
- Leif Hoste (Silence-Lotto) takes a call.
- Tom Boonen (Quick Step) took both stage two and the leader's jersey.
- Where else would you see this? Some of those at the start.
- Spectators with traditional attire.
- Shade is always welcome in the sun.
- People dig into food at the start.
- The terrain was very rocky and barren... not quite fine sand, but desert nonetheless.
- Volodymyr Diudia (Team Milram) broke away eight kilometres after the start.
- Volodymyr Diudia (Team Milram) is the Ukrainian time trial champion.
- Omar Hasanin (Doha Team) chased for a long time.
- Behind, the main bunch had a big stall. The Milram riders moved to the front to block but there was no urgency to chase.
- The Skil-Shimano colours look great this year.
- A local rides his bike in the desert, despite the rocks.
- Volodymyr Diudia (Team Milram) plugs onwards.
- Warning! Camels crossing.
- The race cars are somewhat unusual.
- Omar Hasanin (Doha Team) chased for a long time but never got close.
- The terrain was incredibly dry. Omar Hasanin (Doha Team) plugs on alone.
- The peloton rounds a corner, chasing hard.
- With just over a kilometre to go Quick Step were ramping up the speed on the front.
- It was Tom Boonen's (Quick Step) second individual stage win of the race, as well as the day one team time trial success.
- Is Tom Boonen (Quick Step) on course to repeat his 2006 overall victory here? So far, it looks like he is.
Results
1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step 3.29.41 2 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre 3 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quick Step 4 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence - Lotto 5 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 0.02 6 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Silence - Lotto 7 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Silence - Lotto 0.05 8 Wouter Weylandt (Bel) Quick Step 9 Alberto Loddo (Ita) Tinkoff Credit Systems 10 Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Skil-Shimano 0.12 11 Luciano André Pagliarini Mendonca (Bra) Saunier Duval - Scott 0.14 12 Kenny De Haes (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 13 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 14 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Credit Agricole 15 Tom Veelers (Ned) Skil-Shimano 0.16 16 Robert Wagner (Ger) Skil-Shimano 17 William Bonnet (Fra) Credit Agricole 0.17 18 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step 19 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Credit Agricole 20 Nicolaï Trussov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 21 Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Liquigas 22 Antonio Cruz (USA) BMC Racing Team 23 Nico Eeckhout (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 24 Angel Gomez (Spa) Saunier Duval - Scott 25 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team 26 Marco Velo (Ita) Team Milram 27 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 28 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Silence - Lotto 29 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram 30 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Credit Agricole 31 Martin Kohler (Swi) BMC Racing Team 32 Bernardo Riccio (Ita) Tinkoff Credit Systems 33 Gabriel Rasch (Nor) Credit Agricole 34 Mitchell Docker (Aus) Drapac Porshe 35 Frank Hoj (Den) Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 36 Tristan Valentin (Fra) Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 37 Franck Renier (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 38 Martyn Maaskant (Ned) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 39 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram 40 Omar Hasanin (Syr) Doha Team 41 Roy Sentjens (Ned) Silence - Lotto 42 Stuart Shaw (Aus) Drapac Porshe 43 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 44 Paolo Bossoni (Ita) Lampre 45 Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Quick Step 0.33 46 Floris Goesinnen (Ned) Skil-Shimano 47 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas 48 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Skil-Shimano 49 Robbie Williams (Aus) Drapac Porshe 50 Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre 51 Mathieu Heijboer (Ned) Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 52 Nikita Eskov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 53 Frederik Willems (Bel) Liquigas 54 Aurélien Passeron (Fra) Saunier Duval - Scott 55 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas 56 Leif Hoste (Bel) Silence - Lotto 57 Alberto Ongarato (Ita) Team Milram 58 Yohann Gène (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 59 Volodymyr Dyudya (Ukr) Team Milram 60 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Quick Step 61 Roberto Petito (Ita) Liquigas 62 Roberto Longo (Ita) Lampre 63 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quick Step 0.57 64 Marco Bandiera (Ita) Lampre 65 Maarten Den Bakker (Ned) Skil-Shimano 66 Cycril Lemoine (Fra) Credit Agricole 1.22 67 Alberto Curtolo (Ita) Liquigas 1.28 68 Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas 69 Curvers Roy (Ned) Skil-Shimano 1.30 70 Julian Dean (NZl) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 1.38 71 Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Quick Step 2.22 72 David Millar (GBr) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 3.35 73 Koen Barbé (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 3.57 74 Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 5.31 75 Ghader Mizbani Iranagh (IRI) Iran Cycling Federation 5.51 76 Hossein Nateghi (IRI) Iran Cycling Federation 77 Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 78 Steve Bovay (Swi) BMC Racing Team 7.11 79 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre 7.28 80 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott 7.30 81 Raul Alarcon Garcia (Spa) Saunier Duval - Scott 8.06 82 Rafaa Chitioui (Tun) Doha Team 83 Abdelbasat Hanachi (Alg) Doha Team 84 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 85 Hossein Askari (IRI) Iran Cycling Federation 86 Jackson Stewart (USA) BMC Racing Team 87 Peter Mc Donald (Aus) Drapac Porshe 88 Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat) Saunier Duval - Scott 89 Eric Berthou (Fra) Credit Agricole 90 Mike Sayers (USA) BMC Racing Team 91 Jean-Paul Simon (Bel) Credit Agricole 92 Aymen Ben Hassine (Tun) Doha Team 93 Matej Jurco (Svk) Team Milram 94 Mehdi Sohrabi (IRI) Iran Cycling Federation 95 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 96 Alexander Gottfried (Ger) Tinkoff Credit Systems 97 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 98 Serguei Klimov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 99 Angus Morton (Aus) Drapac Porshe 100 Dean Windsor (Aus) Drapac Porshe 101 Gene Bates (Aus) Drapac Porshe 102 Seyed Mostafa Seyed Rezaei Khormizi (IRI) Iran Cycling Federation 103 Arnaud Labbe (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 104 Alexander Serov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 105 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 106 Taylor Tolleson (USA) BMC Racing Team 107 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 108 Alexander Khatuntsev (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 109 Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 110 Evert Verbist (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 111 Bart Vanheule (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 112 Huub Duyn (Ned) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 113 Bert Roesems (Bel) Silence - Lotto 114 Guido Trenti (USA) Liquigas 115 Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre 116 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 117 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Silence - Lotto 118 Piet Rooijakkers (Ned) Skil-Shimano 8.44 119 Ralf Grabsch (Ger) Team Milram 15.05 120 Hossein Jahanbanian (IRI) Iran Cycling Federation 121 Amir Zargari (IRI) Iran Cycling Federation 122 Abbas Saeiditanha (IRI) Iran Cycling Federation 123 Kilian Patour (Fra) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 124 Saïd Haddou (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 125 Ermanno Capelli (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott 126 Damien Gaudin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 127 Khaleel Abduljanan (Qat) Doha Team 128 Tareq Esmaeili (Qat) Doha Team 129 Hamad Afif (Qat) Doha Team 130 Moosa Said (Qat) Doha Team 131 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi) Saunier Duval - Scott Points Al Ghuwayriya - 52.5 Km 1 Volodymyr Dyudya (Ukr) Team Milram 3 pts 2 Omar Hasanin (Syr) Doha Team 2 3 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence - Lotto 1 Umm Suwaiya - 91.5 Km 1 Volodymyr Dyudya (Ukr) Team Milram 3 pts 2 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quick Step 2 3 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 1 Qatar Foundation - 147.5 Km 1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step 30 pts 2 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre 27 3 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quick Step 25 4 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence - Lotto 23 5 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 21 6 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Silence - Lotto 19 7 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Silence - Lotto 17 8 Wouter Weylandt (Bel) Quick Step 15 9 Alberto Loddo (Ita) Tinkoff Credit Systems 13 10 Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Skil-Shimano 11 11 Luciano André Pagliarini Mendonca (Bra) Saunier Duval - Scott 10 12 Kenny De Haes (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 9 13 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 8 14 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Credit Agricole 7 15 Tom Veelers (Ned) Skil-Shimano 6 16 Robert Wagner (Ger) Skil-Shimano 5 17 William Bonnet (Fra) Credit Agricole 4 18 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step 3 19 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Credit Agricole 2 20 Nicolaï Trussov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 1 Young rider 1 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence - Lotto 3.29.41 2 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 0.02 3 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Silence - Lotto 4 Wouter Weylandt (Bel) Quick Step 0.05 5 Kenny De Haes (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 0.14 6 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 7 Tom Veelers (Ned) Skil-Shimano 0.16 8 Robert Wagner (Ger) Skil-Shimano 9 Nicolaï Trussov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 0.17 10 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team 11 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram 12 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Credit Agricole 13 Martin Kohler (Swi) BMC Racing Team 14 Bernardo Riccio (Ita) Tinkoff Credit Systems 15 Mitchell Docker (Aus) Drapac Porshe 16 Martyn Maaskant (Ned) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 17 Floris Goesinnen (Ned) Skil-Shimano 0.33 18 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas 19 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Skil-Shimano 20 Robbie Williams (Aus) Drapac Porshe 21 Nikita Eskov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 22 Aurélien Passeron (Fra) Saunier Duval - Scott 23 Volodymyr Dyudya (Ukr) Team Milram 24 Roberto Longo (Ita) Lampre 25 Marco Bandiera (Ita) Lampre 0.57 26 Cycril Lemoine (Fra) Credit Agricole 1.22 27 Alberto Curtolo (Ita) Liquigas 1.28 28 Hossein Nateghi (IRI) Iran Cycling Federation 5.51 29 Steve Bovay (Swi) BMC Racing Team 7.11 30 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre 7.28 31 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott 7.30 32 Raul Alarcon Garcia (Spa) Saunier Duval - Scott 8.06 33 Rafaa Chitioui (Tun) Doha Team 34 Abdelbasat Hanachi (Alg) Doha Team 35 Jean-Paul Simon (Bel) Credit Agricole 36 Matej Jurco (Svk) Team Milram 37 Alexander Gottfried (Ger) Tinkoff Credit Systems 38 Angus Morton (Aus) Drapac Porshe 39 Dean Windsor (Aus) Drapac Porshe 40 Seyed Mostafa Seyed Rezaei Khormizi (IRI) Iran Cycling Federation 41 Taylor Tolleson (USA) BMC Racing Team 42 Alexander Khatuntsev (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 43 Evert Verbist (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 44 Bart Vanheule (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 45 Huub Duyn (Ned) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 46 Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre 47 Hossein Jahanbanian (IRI) Iran Cycling Federation 15.05 48 Ermanno Capelli (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott 49 Damien Gaudin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 50 Khaleel Abduljanan (Qat) Doha Team 51 Hamad Afif (Qat) Doha Team 52 Moosa Said (Qat) Doha Team Teams 1 Quick Step 10.29.08 2 Silence-Lotto 0.02 3 Slipstream Chipotle - H30 0.31 4 Tinkoff Credit Systems 0.34 5 Skil-Shimano 0.39 6 Crédit Agricole 0.43 7 Bouygues Telecom 8 Lampre 0.45 9 BMC Racing Team 0.46 10 Team Milram 11 Saunier Duval-Scott 0.59 12 Cofidis 1.02 13 Drapac Porshe 14 Liquigas 1.18 15 Topsport Vlaanderen 4.23 16 Doha Team 16.24 17 Iran Cycling Federation 19.43 General classification after stage 3 1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step 6.04.30 2 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quick Step 0.13 3 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence - Lotto 0.23 4 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre 0.25 5 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 0.26 6 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Silence - Lotto 0.32 7 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.50 8 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Silence - Lotto 0.54 9 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step 0.59 10 Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Quick Step 1.03 11 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 1.14 12 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Silence - Lotto 1.20 13 Alberto Loddo (Ita) Tinkoff Credit Systems 1.24 14 Robert Wagner (Ger) Skil-Shimano 15 Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Skil-Shimano 1.25 16 Tom Veelers (Ned) Skil-Shimano 17 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Credit Agricole 1.31 18 Wouter Weylandt (Bel) Quick Step 1.34 19 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Credit Agricole 20 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Credit Agricole 21 Paolo Bossoni (Ita) Lampre 1.37 22 Franck Renier (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1.38 23 Antonio Cruz (USA) BMC Racing Team 24 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram 25 Luciano André Pagliarini Mendonca (Bra) Saunier Duval - Scott 1.40 26 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Quick Step 1.41 27 Floris Goesinnen (Ned) Skil-Shimano 1.46 28 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quick Step 2.05 29 Frederik Willems (Bel) Liquigas 2.22 30 Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Liquigas 4.18 31 Roy Sentjens (Ned) Silence - Lotto 4.19 32 William Bonnet (Fra) Credit Agricole 4.21 33 Stuart Shaw (Aus) Drapac Porshe 4.24 34 Martin Kohler (Swi) BMC Racing Team 4.25 35 Marco Velo (Ita) Team Milram 36 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram 37 Angel Gomez (Spa) Saunier Duval - Scott 4.30 38 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas 4.34 39 Roberto Petito (Ita) Liquigas 40 Leif Hoste (Bel) Silence - Lotto 4.35 41 Volodymyr Dyudya (Ukr) Team Milram 42 Yohann Gène (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 4.41 43 Mathieu Heijboer (Ned) Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 4.45 44 Aurélien Passeron (Fra) Saunier Duval - Scott 4.46 45 Gabriel Rasch (Nor) Credit Agricole 5.03 46 Curvers Roy (Ned) Skil-Shimano 5.30 47 Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Quick Step 6.17 48 Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 6.51 49 Omar Hasanin (Syr) Doha Team 8.01 50 Martyn Maaskant (Ned) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 8.54 51 Kenny De Haes (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 9.01 52 Nicolaï Trussov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 9.03 53 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 9.05 54 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team 55 Frank Hoj (Den) Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 9.09 56 Tristan Valentin (Fra) Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 57 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Skil-Shimano 9.13 58 Robbie Williams (Aus) Drapac Porshe 9.20 59 Roberto Longo (Ita) Lampre 60 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Silence - Lotto 9.21 61 Alberto Ongarato (Ita) Team Milram 62 Maarten Den Bakker (Ned) Skil-Shimano 9.37 63 Marco Bandiera (Ita) Lampre 9.44 64 Bernardo Riccio (Ita) Tinkoff Credit Systems 10.00 65 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas 10.06 66 Alberto Curtolo (Ita) Liquigas 10.09 67 Julian Dean (NZl) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 10.15 68 Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre 10.32 69 Steve Bovay (Swi) BMC Racing Team 11.19 70 Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas 11.44 71 Cycril Lemoine (Fra) Credit Agricole 12.00 72 Eric Berthou (Fra) Credit Agricole 12.10 73 David Millar (GBr) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 12.12 74 Evert Verbist (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 12.13 75 Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 76 Arnaud Labbe (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 12.14 77 Piet Rooijakkers (Ned) Skil-Shimano 12.44 78 Dean Windsor (Aus) Drapac Porshe 13.05 79 Koen Barbé (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 13.32 80 Mitchell Docker (Aus) Drapac Porshe 13.34 81 Nico Eeckhout (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 82 Nikita Eskov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 13.53 83 Ghader Mizbani Iranagh (IRI) Iran Cycling Federation 14.56 84 Aymen Ben Hassine (Tun) Doha Team 15.54 85 Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat) Saunier Duval - Scott 15.57 86 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre 16.15 87 Hossein Askari (IRI) Iran Cycling Federation 16.18 88 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott 16.23 89 Huub Duyn (Ned) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 16.43 90 Bert Roesems (Bel) Silence - Lotto 16.48 91 Bart Vanheule (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 16.53 92 Mike Sayers (USA) BMC Racing Team 16.54 93 Taylor Tolleson (USA) BMC Racing Team 94 Matej Jurco (Svk) Team Milram 16.57 95 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 16.58 96 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 97 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 98 Raul Alarcon Garcia (Spa) Saunier Duval - Scott 16.59 99 Serguei Klimov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 17.06 100 Rafaa Chitioui (Tun) Doha Team 17.07 101 Alexander Serov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 17.12 102 Guido Trenti (USA) Liquigas 17.39 103 Gene Bates (Aus) Drapac Porshe 17.45 104 Christophe Laurent (Fra) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 17.50 105 Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 19.08 106 Saïd Haddou (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 19.13 107 Hossein Nateghi (IRI) Iran Cycling Federation 19.26 108 Ermanno Capelli (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott 20.00 109 Alexander Gottfried (Ger) Tinkoff Credit Systems 21.22 110 Alexander Khatuntsev (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 111 Peter Mc Donald (Aus) Drapac Porshe 21.23 112 Angus Morton (Aus) Drapac Porshe 113 Jackson Stewart (USA) BMC Racing Team 21.24 114 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 21.28 115 Abdelbasat Hanachi (Alg) Doha Team 21.37 116 Mehdi Sohrabi (IRI) Iran Cycling Federation 21.41 117 Seyed Mostafa Seyed Rezaei Khormizi (IRI) Iran Cycling Federation 118 Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre 21.51 119 Jean-Paul Simon (Bel) Credit Agricole 22.43 120 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis Credit Par Telephone 23.12 121 Damien Gaudin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 23.53 122 Ralf Grabsch (Ger) Team Milram 123 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi) Saunier Duval - Scott 23.58 124 Abbas Saeiditanha (IRI) Iran Cycling Federation 24.10 125 Amir Zargari (IRI) Iran Cycling Federation 126 Tareq Esmaeili (Qat) Doha Team 28.36 127 Hossein Jahanbanian (IRI) Iran Cycling Federation 28.40 128 Kilian Patour (Fra) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 29.35 129 Hamad Afif (Qat) Doha Team 130 Moosa Said (Qat) Doha Team 131 Khaleel Abduljanan (Qat) Doha Team 29.44 Points classification 1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step 63 pts 2 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre 52 3 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence - Lotto 51 4 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quick Step 48 5 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 45 6 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Silence - Lotto 40 7 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 27 8 Wouter Weylandt (Bel) Quick Step 21 9 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Silence - Lotto 19 10 Luciano André Pagliarini Mendonca (Bra) Saunier Duval - Scott 17 11 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Silence - Lotto 15 12 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step 15 13 Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Quick Step 13 14 Alberto Loddo (Ita) Tinkoff Credit Systems 13 15 Robert Wagner (Ger) Skil-Shimano 13 16 Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Skil-Shimano 11 17 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Credit Agricole 11 18 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 10 19 Tom Veelers (Ned) Skil-Shimano 10 20 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Quick Step 9 21 Kenny De Haes (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 9 22 Volodymyr Dyudya (Ukr) Team Milram 6 23 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quick Step 5 24 William Bonnet (Fra) Credit Agricole 4 25 Paolo Bossoni (Ita) Lampre 3 26 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Credit Agricole 2 27 Omar Hasanin (Syr) Doha Team 2 28 Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 1 29 Nicolaï Trussov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 1 Young rider classification 1 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence - Lotto 6.04.53 2 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 0.03 3 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Silence - Lotto 0.09 4 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.27 5 Robert Wagner (Ger) Skil-Shimano 1.01 6 Tom Veelers (Ned) Skil-Shimano 1.02 7 Wouter Weylandt (Bel) Quick Step 1.11 8 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Credit Agricole 9 Floris Goesinnen (Ned) Skil-Shimano 1.23 10 Martin Kohler (Swi) BMC Racing Team 4.02 11 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram 12 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas 4.11 13 Volodymyr Dyudya (Ukr) Team Milram 4.12 14 Aurélien Passeron (Fra) Saunier Duval - Scott 4.23 15 Martyn Maaskant (Ned) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 8.31 16 Kenny De Haes (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 8.38 17 Nicolaï Trussov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 8.40 18 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team 8.42 19 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Skil-Shimano 8.50 20 Robbie Williams (Aus) Drapac Porshe 8.57 21 Roberto Longo (Ita) Lampre 22 Marco Bandiera (Ita) Lampre 9.21 23 Bernardo Riccio (Ita) Tinkoff Credit Systems 9.37 24 Alberto Curtolo (Ita) Liquigas 9.46 25 Steve Bovay (Swi) BMC Racing Team 10.56 26 Cycril Lemoine (Fra) Credit Agricole 11.37 27 Evert Verbist (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 11.50 28 Dean Windsor (Aus) Drapac Porshe 12.42 29 Mitchell Docker (Aus) Drapac Porshe 13.11 30 Nikita Eskov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 13.30 31 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre 15.52 32 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott 16.00 33 Huub Duyn (Ned) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 16.20 34 Bart Vanheule (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen 16.30 35 Taylor Tolleson (USA) BMC Racing Team 16.31 36 Matej Jurco (Svk) Team Milram 16.34 37 Raul Alarcon Garcia (Spa) Saunier Duval - Scott 16.36 38 Rafaa Chitioui (Tun) Doha Team 16.44 39 Hossein Nateghi (IRI) Iran Cycling Federation 19.03 40 Ermanno Capelli (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott 19.37 41 Alexander Gottfried (Ger) Tinkoff Credit Systems 20.59 42 Alexander Khatuntsev (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems 43 Angus Morton (Aus) Drapac Porshe 21.00 44 Abdelbasat Hanachi (Alg) Doha Team 21.14 45 Seyed Mostafa Seyed Rezaei Khormizi (IRI) Iran Cycling Federation 21.18 46 Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre 21.28 47 Jean-Paul Simon (Bel) Credit Agricole 22.20 48 Damien Gaudin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 23.30 49 Hossein Jahanbanian (IRI) Iran Cycling Federation 28.17 50 Hamad Afif (Qat) Doha Team 29.12 51 Moosa Said (Qat) Doha Team 52 Khaleel Abduljanan (Qat) Doha Team 29.21 Teams classification 1 Quick Step 18.01.41 2 Silence-Lotto 0.09 3 Skil-Shimano 2.47 4 Crédit Agricole 3.00 5 Bouygues Telecom 5.06 6 Team Milram 8.41 7 BMC Racing Team 8 Slipstream Chipotle - H30 8.58 9 Saunier Duval-Scott 8.59 10 Liquigas 9.06 11 Lampre 9.47 12 Topsport Vlaanderen 12.17 13 Drapac Porshe 16.23 14 Tinkoff Credit Systems 17.47 15 Cofidis 21.08 16 Doha Team 38.51 17 Iran Cycling Federation 43.29
