The Tour of Qatar reached its conclusion today when a bunch sprint saw Sam Bennett (Bora-Argon 18) winning the final stage ahead of Andrea Gaurdini (Astana) and Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis). Niki Terpstra (Etixx-Quickstep) held on to his General Classification lead to win the Tour of Qatar overall.
Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung would end the Tour of Qatar off on a high note with Youcef Reguigui sprinting to 5th place in the capital city, Doha. Youcef was able to rely on some fine work from his MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung teammates as they rode as a unit throughout the day to ensure the Algerian was still fresh enough to give the finish a good crack.
While there were numerous attacks throughout the stage today, the 5.5km city circuit which would host the finale, always lent itself to a bunch sprint. Tinkoff-Saxo and Katusha were also adamant in ensuring a bunch sprint would decide the final stage and so all opportunists were never allowed much breathing space.
It was encouraging to see the MTN-Qhubeka sprint train gelling so well in the final few kilometers of the stage. All 6 riders were on hand in the final kilometers to assist with the lead out. Bidding their time and leaving it really late, the African team took advantage of a sharp right turn just before the final km to surge to the front and drop Youcef off on the wheels of the favourites.
Youcef Reguigui – Rider
Jens Zemke – Head of Performance
