DOHA: German rider Michael Schweizer yesterday won stage two at Tour of Zubarah as overnight leader Jacob Tipper of Britain finished in a bunch sprint to retain the yellow jersey.
Schweizer of Team NRW won the penultimate stage of the four-day event in a time of 3 hours 15 minutes and 01 second.
The stage started from the Camel Race Track and wound up in Dukhan, the western part of Qatar after the riders completed a distance of 119kms.
The 32-year-old road cycling specialist from Germany finished ahead of Italian rider Andrea Palini of Skydive Dubai while the third place was grabbed by Dutchman Koos Jeroen Kers of Wilton Cycling Team.
Algerian Abderrahmane Bechlagheme of Sharjah Team was placed fourth while Tipper - who picked up the yellow jersey after the first-day’s prologue on Wednesday - yesterday completed the top-five riders to lead the charge in Qatar.
“I am very pleased with the win. I came here expecting nothing and going home with at least one victory,” Schweizer said.
The German rider’s best finish before was a stage win at the 24th Course Cycliste de Solidarnosc et des Champions Olympiques in 2013.
The German, who was riding for the first time in Qatar, was given almost an armchair ride to the finish by his team-mate – who gave a perfect lead-out from 1200m to only 200m and then he unleashed his sprint to win the stage.
“It was really a hard race as it was not as windy as yesterday. We were lucky to have a breakaway one kilometre before the finish and ---- did a perfect lead out form me. He was in the breakaway all the day and still he has the good leg in the end… he did a superb job for me.”
Palini was satisfied with his second spot and red jersey as he said: “My objective is not the yellow jersey. My goal is the ranking in Asia. As a tour, for me it is ok if I take the second place. I would like to win a stage, but every team is fighting hard against me. I don’t have good guys to set me up for the sprint. I am pleased with my results today.”
“Tomorrow, we’ll try to make the race close with the Team Giant. I don’t know if it’s will be possible or not but we’ll see (what we can do in the final stage),” the Italian said.
Meanwhile, Tipper said stage two was very demanding.
“It was a very tough race today… there was no wind. There was a lot of pressure on me in the end. I was too tired for the last sprint,” Tipper said.
“I somehow managed to retain the yellow jersey. We have last stage tomorrow and I am sure it’s going to be going to be tougher,” he said.
Kazakhstan rider Artyom Zakhrov, Iranian Mahdi Rajabikaboodcheshmeh, Alegrian Abdelbasat Hanachi, Dutchman Mick Du Prie and Spaniard Angel de Julian Vazquez completed the top-10 of the day.
In the general classification, Tipped has a cumulative time of 6:30:13 which is 4 seconds superior to that of Meher Hasnaoui who won stage one on Thursday for Skydive Dubai.
Wilton Cycling Team’s Kers is in third spot with a gap of 10 seconds on Tipper while Palini - ranked at the top in Asian UCI rankings - is 11 seconds behind the yellow jersey owner.
Fifth-placed Rajabikaboodcheshmeh - who rides for Pisghaman Giant Team - is 24 seconds behind Tipper.
Palini heads the points classification after stage two with a tally of 24.
Tipper (24), Kers (18), Schweizer (15) and Hasnaoui (15) complete the list of top five riders in the points classification.
Palini has the red jersey while Rajabikaboodcheshmeh owns the light blue jersey going into today’s third and final stage.
The third and final stage will start in Simaisma and at Al Zubarah Fort after the riders complete a distance of 119.8kms.
THE PENINSULA
