HONOR 2Nd STAGE AL WAKRA > AL KHOR CORNICHE 187,500 Km
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HONOR 2nd STAGE AL WAKRA > AL KHOR CORNICHE 187,500 km STAGE Stage Winner 61 KRISTOFF Alexander NOR TEAM KATUSHA Best Young 21 SAGAN Peter SVK TINKOFF-SAXO Best Team EQS ETIXX-QUICK STEP GENERAL General classification 61 KRISTOFF Alexander NOR TEAM KATUSHA Point classification 2 BOONEN Tom BEL ETIXX-QUICK STEP Young classification 21 SAGAN Peter SVK TINKOFF-SAXO Team classification EQS ETIXX-QUICK STEP JERSEY Gold jersey 61 KRISTOFF Alexander NOR TEAM KATUSHA Silver jersey 2 BOONEN Tom BEL ETIXX-QUICK STEP Pearl white jersey 21 SAGAN Peter SVK TINKOFF-SAXO 09/02/2015 - 14:11:08 2ème étape (187.5 Km) 2nd stage (187.5 Km) AL WAKRA AL WAKRA AL KHOR CORNICHE AL KHOR CORNICHE Lundi 9 Février 2015 Monday 9 February 2015 KRISTOFF CONQUERS GOLD AFTER HECTIC DAY IN THE WIND Day two of the Tour of Qatar was the scene of one of the most spectacular stages in the history of the event. A sand storm indeed hit the peloton in the first hour of what was to be an action packed stage. After a tremendous battle between the teams of the favourites, fifteen men eventually made it clear to the finish in Al Khor where Alexander Kristoff conquered his first ever stage in Qatar. The Norwegian beat Guardini and Van Avermaet on his way to conquering the overall leader’s Golden Jersey. While the riders had struggled against the wind on stage 1, the conditions were a lot more favourable for the second and longest day of the event: a 187.5 ride from the Al Wakra harbour to the corniche in Al Khor. The 141 riders at the start knew the wind would make the day a fast one, little had they imagined that a sand storm would hit the pack as soon as they left Al Wakra. Straight fro the start, making the best of the strong tailwind, the favourites’ teams moved to the front and manage to break the pack apart. At the front of the wind and sand swept race, where the likes of Golden Jersey Rojas, title holder Terpstra, four-time winner Boonen, as well as Sagan, Cancellara, Kristoff, Blythe and Haussler. The front group’s lead grew to 45” over the first chasing bunch but things calmed down and the peloton bunched up again at km 50 for the end of Round 1. It was then the turn of five men to break away at km 51: Morkov (TCS),Van Avermaet (BMC), Van Zyl (MTN), Wallays (TSV) and Hayman (OGE). Their advantage grew to a 1’10 at km 68 just before poor old Wallays was hit by a puncture. The front four continued their efforts and the gap reached 3’50 at km 102. At the first intermediate sprint (km 108.5), won by Van Avermaet ahead of Hayman and Morkov, the gap had dropped down to 3’30. Round 2 of the battle between favourites could then commence. Led by the riders of Etixx Quickstep, around forty riders powered away. The only big names missing where Kittel (TGA), Wiggins (SKY) and Valverde (MOV). Meanwhile, the front five saw their lead drop down dramatically. They were finally caught by the Golden Jersey group at km 123. Sixty riders eventually bunched up together again before another big explanation occurred. This time 36 strong men made a difference. A decisive move that Cancellara (TFR), Kittel (TGA), Bouhanni (COF), Valverde (MOV and Wiggins (SKY) missed out on. The second bonus sprint (km 157.5) was clinched by Boonen (EQS) ahead of Maes (EQS) and Burghardt (BMC). As the pace continued being impressive, several riders failed to keep up. White Pearl Jersey Arnaud Démare (FDJ) was the first to be dropped. Then came the turn of overall leader José Joaquin Rojas. The Golden Jersey would never manage to move back to the front. With 25 kilometres to go, only 15 riders remained at the front: Terpstra, Boonen, Maes (EQS), Sagan, Bodnar (TCS), Stuyven (TFR), Burghardt, Van Avermaet (BMC), Kristoff (KAT), Guardini, Tleubayev (AST), Rowe, Stannard (SKY), Blythe (OGE) and Haussler (IAM). The front group remained together all the way to the Al Khor Corniche. Despite a few attempts, victory was to be decided after a group sprint. Without the slightest team mate, an exhausted Alexander Kristoff flew to victory claiming his first ever success in his sixth appearance at the Tour of Qatar. Winner of Milan-San Remo and two stages of the Tour de France last year, the 27-year-old Norwegian adds a prestigious win to his victory record by beating Guardini and Van Avermaet to the line. Kristoff takes command of the GC with a 1” lead over Boonen and 3” over Van Avermaet and will be wearing the Golden Jersey on tomorrow’s individual time-trial. Fifth on the day, Tom Boonen captures the Silver Jersey (points classification) while Peter Sagan claims the White Pearl Jersey for the best young rider. TOUR OF QATAR AL WAKRA > AL KHOR CORNICHE MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2015 PHOTO FINISH Page 1 sur 1 - 09/02/2015 - 14:11:24 STAGE CLASSIFICATION 2 Distance: 187,500 km AL WAKRA > AL KHOR CORNICHE Time of the first: 3h49'51" MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2015 Average: 48,945 km/h Pl Bib Name First Name Team Nat B P Split Pl Bib Name First Name Team Nat B P Split 1 61 KRISTOFF Alexander KAT NOR 10" 00" 67 95 GRUZDEV Dmitriy AST KAZ ' ' 2 96 GUARDINI Andrea AST ITA 06" ' ' 68 152 *AREGGER Marcel IAM SUI ' ' 3 46 VAN AVERMAET Greg BMC BEL 07" ' ' 69 53 ERVITI Imanol MOV ESP ' ' 4 21 *SAGAN Peter TCS SVK ' ' 70 58 VENTOSO Francisco MOV ESP ' ' 5 2 BOONEN Tom EQS BEL 03" ' ' 71 16 STAMSNIJDER Tom TGA NED ' ' 6 151 HAUSSLER Heinrich IAM AUS ' ' 72 56 SANZ UNZUE Enrique MOV ESP ' ' 7 131 BLYTHE Adam OGE GBR ' ' 73 155 HOLLENSTEIN Reto IAM SUI ' ' 8 42 BURGHARDT Marcus BMC GER 01" ' ' 74 68 SMUKULIS Gatis KAT LAT ' ' 9 36 *STUYVEN Jasper TFR BEL ' ' 75 147 PLAZA MOLINA Ruben LAM ESP ' ' 10 106 STANNARD Ian SKY GBR ' ' 76 163 DEMPSTER Zakkari BOA AUS ' ' 11 1 TERPSTRA Niki EQS NED ' ' 77 64 *HALLER Marco KAT AUT ' ' 12 22 BODNAR Maciej TCS POL ' ' 78 63 GUARNIERI Jacopo KAT ITA ' ' 13 105 *ROWE Luke SKY GBR ' ' 79 75 *PETIT Adrien COF FRA ' ' 14 4 MAES Nikolas EQS BEL 02" 06" 80 45 HERMANS Ben BMC BEL 09'18" 15 97 TLEUBAYEV Ruslan AST KAZ ' ' 81 103 KNEES Christian SKY GER ' ' 16 66 KUZNETSOV Viacheslav KAT RUS 15" 82 48 *ZABEL Rick BMC GER ' ' 17 114 DELAGE Mickaël FDJ FRA ' ' 83 107 SUTTON Christopher SKY AUS ' ' 18 62 *BYSTRÖM Sven Erik KAT NOR ' ' 84 81 BOASSON HAGEN Edvald MTN NOR ' ' 19 124 SALOMEIN Jarl TSV BEL ' ' 85 84 *REGUIGUI Youcef MTN ALG ' ' 20 5 TRENTIN Matteo EQS ITA ' ' 86 175 *RUFFONI Nicola BAR ITA ' ' 21 41 GILBERT Philippe BMC BEL ' ' 87 153 BRANDLE Matthias IAM AUT ' ' 22 132 DOCKER Mitchell OGE AUS ' ' 88 141 POZZATO Filippo LAM ITA 10" ' ' 23 67 PAOLINI Luca KAT ITA ' ' 89 52 AMADOR Andrey MOV CRC ' ' 24 94 GRIVKO Andriy AST UKR ' ' 90 143 COSTA Mario LAM POR ' ' 25 18 VEELERS Tom TGA NED ' ' 91 8 VELITS Martin EQS SVK ' ' 26 133 HAYMAN Mathew OGE AUS 02" ' ' 92 47 VELITS Peter BMC SVK ' ' 27 123 DECLERCQ Tim TSV BEL ' ' 93 38 *VAN POPPEL Danny TFR NED ' ' 28 165 SCHORN Daniel BOA AUT ' ' 94 31 CANCELLARA Fabian TFR SUI ' ' 29 156 KLUGE Roger IAM GER ' ' 95 54 LASTRAS Pablo MOV ESP ' ' 30 102 *FENN Andrew SKY GBR ' ' 96 14 *PREIDLER Georg TGA AUT ' ' 31 12 *ARNDT Nikias TGA GER ' ' 97 86 *VAN ZYL Johann MTN RSA ' ' 32 118 OFFREDO Yoann FDJ FRA ' ' 98 11 KITTEL Marcel TGA GER ' ' 33 164 MATZKA Ralf BOA GER ' ' 99 17 TIMMER Albert TGA NED ' ' 34 13 DE BACKER Bert TGA BEL 30" 100 78 SOUPE Geoffrey COF FRA ' ' 35 135 KEUKELEIRE Jens OGE BEL 50" 101 3 KEISSE Iljo EQS BEL ' ' 36 76 ROLLIN Dominique COF CAN 03'08" 102 158 VAN GENECHTEN Jonas IAM BEL ' ' 37 157 REYNES Vicente IAM ESP 20" ' ' 103 93 DE VREESE Laurens AST BEL ' ' 38 51 VALVERDE Alejandro MOV ESP ' ' 104 83 CIOLEK Gerald MTN GER ' ' 39 28 TRUSOV Nikolay TCS RUS ' ' 105 104 PATE Danny SKY USA ' ' 40 161 *BENNETT Sam BOA IRL ' ' 106 138 TUFT Svein OGE CAN ' ' 41 167 *THWAITES Scott BOA GBR ' ' 107 168 VOSS Paul BOA GER ' ' 42 6 *VAN KEIRSBULCK GuillaumeEQS BEL ' ' 108 57 *SUTTERLIN Jasha MOV GER ' ' 43 71 *BOUHANNI Nacer COF FRA ' ' 109 101 WIGGINS Bradley SKY GBR ' ' 44 146 OLIVEIRA Nelson LAM POR ' ' 110 122 *CAMPENAERTS Victor TSV BEL ' ' 45 72 *AHLSTRAND Jonas COF SWE ' ' 111 144 FERRARI Roberto LAM ITA ' ' 46 55 ROJAS Jose Joaquin MOV ESP ' ' 112 142 BONO Matteo LAM ITA ' ' 47 26 JUUL JENSEN Christopher TCS DEN ' ' 113 145 MODOLO Sacha LAM ITA ' ' 48 7 VANDENBERGH Stijn EQS BEL ' ' 114 172 BOEM Nicola BAR ITA ' ' 49 15 SINKELDAM Ramon TGA NED ' ' 115 125 VAN HECKE Preben TSV BEL ' ' 50 23 BRESCHEL Matti TCS DEN ' ' 116 87 VENTER Jaco MTN RSA 12'09" 51 121 WALLAYS Jelle TSV BEL ' ' 117 73 CHAINEL Steve COF FRA ' ' 52 27 MORKOV Michael TCS DEN 01" ' ' 118 74 LEMOINE Cyril COF FRA 10" ' ' 53 115 FISCHER Murilo Antonio FDJ BRA ' ' 119 77 *SENECHAL Florian COF FRA ' ' 54 92 BOZIC Borut AST SLO ' ' 120 35 STEEGMANS Gert TFR BEL ' ' 55 116 LADAGNOUS Matthieu FDJ FRA ' ' 121 34 RAST Gregory TFR SUI ' ' 56 128 VAN SPEYBROUCK Pieter TSV BEL ' ' 122 148 RICHEZE Ariel Maximiliano LAM ARG ' ' 57 37 VAN POPPEL Boy TFR NED ' ' 123 174 PIRAZZI Stefano BAR ITA 23'48" 58 44 DRUCKER Jean-Pierre BMC LUX ' ' 124 154 DEVENYNS Dries IAM BEL ' ' 59 65 KOZONTCHUK Dmitry KAT RUS ' ' 125 33 POPOVYCH Yaroslav TFR UKR ' ' 60 82 BOS Théo MTN NED 06'55" 126 166 *SCHWARZMANN Michael BOA GER ' ' 61 111 *DEMARE Arnaud FDJ FRA ' ' 127 25 *HANSEN Jesper TCS DEN ' ' 62 112 BONNET William FDJ FRA ' ' 128 137 MOURIS Jens OGE NED ' ' 63 32 IRIZAR Markel TFR ESP ' ' 129 98 WESTRA Lieuwe AST NED ' ' 64 134 HOWARD Leigh OGE AUS ' ' 130 85 *SBARAGLI Kristan MTN ITA ' ' 65 24 BRUTT Pavel TCS RUS ' ' 131 113 BOUCHER David FDJ BEL ' ' 66 136 LANCASTER Brett OGE AUS ' ' 132 126 *VAN HOECKE Gijs TSV BEL ' ' 09/02/2015 - 14:07:01 STAGE CLASSIFICATION 2 Distance: 187,500 km AL WAKRA > AL KHOR CORNICHE Time of the first: 3h49'51" MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2015 Average: 48,945 km/h Pl Bib Name First Name Team Nat B P Split Pl Bib Name First Name Team Nat B P Split 133 173 PIECHELE Andrea BAR ITA ' ' 134 117 *LE BON Johan FDJ FRA ' ' 135 162 ARCHBOLD Shane BOA NZL ' ' 136 177 *STERBINI Simone BAR ITA ' ' 137 127 *VAN MEIRHAEGHE Jef TSV BEL ' ' 138 43 DE MARCHI Alessandro BMC ITA ' ' 139 91 BOOM Lars AST NED ' ' Did not finish 171 BATTAGLIN Enrico BAR ITA 176 *STERBINI Luca BAR ITA 2 rider(s).