Sagan comes up short on stage 4
Peter Sagan came up short again in the Tour of Qatar on stage 4, won by Katusha's Alexander Kristoff. The Slovakian champion came off the Norwegian's wheel late into the headwind finish, but could not match the speed of last year's Milan-San Remo winner.
The day wasn't a total failure for Tinkoff-Saxo, who positioned Maciej Bodnar in the front group, five seconds ahead of race leader Niki Terpstra (Etixx-Quickstep). The Pole already in second place after the time trial, is now six seconds off the overall classification lead with two stages remaining.
“It was a great day. Of course, it would have been even better if Bodnar had taken seven additional seconds and if Sagan had finished 50cm further ahead. But we can only be satisfied," director Tristan Hoffman said. "Peter showed that he has the speed and Bodnar took 5 seconds, which gives us confidence in the all-important stage tomorrow."
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The Tinkoff-Saxo team focussed their efforts in the stage on the final kilometers, where a series of roundabouts and changes in direction in the wind were expected to split the field.
“We fought hard in the finale to position ourselves in the peloton and I was able to gain 5 seconds in a race that will be decided by small time differences," Bodnar said. "There have been splits in the peloton on all stages, so we knew that we had to stay focused – especially in the last tricky part. Tomorrow will be the most important day of the entire race and we have to grasp the opportunities that arise."
Sky loses ground in finale
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