Golden display from Renshaw
Mark Renshaw moved to the top of the standings at the Tour of Qatar after outsprinting Daniele Bennati and Tom Boonen on stage four.
Last Updated: 10/02/11 3:06pm
Mark Renshaw moved to the top of the standings at the Tour of Qatar after outsprinting Daniele Bennati (Leopard Trek) and Tom Boonen (Quick-Step) to victory on stage four.
The 153.5km trek from the West Bay Lagoon to Al Kharaitiyat proved another windy one with echelons being the order of the day on the exposed desert roads.
Nineteen riders were leading the way as the race entered its final hour of action but they were pegged back by a 26-man chase group with around 18km to go and Team Sky's unrelenting pace on the front shed almost half that field as they progressed into the destination town.
Bradley Wiggins must have been feeling fresh as he sprung an attack three kilometres from home, but the bunch was back together as they passed the flamme rouge and Renshaw emerged from the mêlée on the long closing straight to take his victory by half a bike length.
The 10 bonus seconds the HTC-Highroad rider accrued ensured he snatched the leader's golden jersey from Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Cervélo), and he now holds a six-second advantage over his Australian compatriot with just one stage to go.
Bennati sits a further nine seconds back in third position, with Team Sky's Juan Antonio Flecha fourth, 24 seconds off the pace.
