Tom Boonen won the fifth
stage of the Tour of Qatar in yet another mass sprint finish. Boonen
took his second victory in this year’s race and the 17th in the history
of this event as he edged out Danilo Napolitano (Katusha) and Edvald
Boasson Hagen (Team Sky) at the end of a 142km route from Lusail to
Madinat Al Shamal.
Strong crosswinds then saw a 14-man group pull clear in the final
stages but they were caught by the peloton as they crossed under the
Flamme Rouge to set up the third consecutive bunch sprint. Wouter Mol
(Vacansoleil) holds a nine second lead over Geert Steurs (Topsport
Vlaanderen-Mercator) on GC going into Friday’s final stage after their
breakaway on stage two.
