Ian Stannard and Luke Rowe stay well placed at 2015 Tour of Qatar

Ian Stannard and Luke Rowe remain well placed at the Tour of Qatar after stage four reached a hotly contested conclusion.

Ian Stannard and Luke Rowe remain well positioned at the Tour of Qatar after stage four reached a hotly-contested conclusion.

Stannard and Rowe were both kept out of trouble on another blustery day in the desert, with Stannard retaining third place overall and Rowe, who now sits sixth on GC, staying in control of the young rider’s jersey.

Both riders resisted the temptation to get embroiled in the sprint which concluded the 165.5km trek from Al Thakhira to Mesaieed, with the duo rolling home five seconds back in the peloton after the fast men had battled it out for victory.

It was Alexander Kristoff who took the spoils on Wednesday, with the Katusha rider bagging his second success of the race after holding off a late surge from Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo).

The result saw Niki Terpstra (Etixx – Quick-Step)’s lead at the top of the standings cut to six seconds over Maciej Bodnar (Tinkoff-Saxo), with Stannard just six seconds further adrift.

Early start

High winds forced the stage to start 70 minutes earlier than originally planned and Dmitriy Gruzdev (Astana), Jaco Venter (MTN-Qhubeka) and Jarl Salomein (Topsport Vlaanderen) wasted no time in jumping clear after the flag had been lowered.

Some hard riding – combined with a stiff tailwind – saw 50.2km covered during the opening hour of action and the gap stabilised at 3min 30sec before the peloton began gradually reeling them back in.

Tinkoff-Saxo, Movistar and FDJ all took turns on the front to achieve that feat 19km from home, and then the sprint trains gradually worked their way to the fore, with Orica-GreenEdge, Giant-Alpecin and Etixx – Quick-Step all active on the run in to the finale.

A nervy peloton stepped back as the race flashed under the flamme rouge, leaving 14 riders to duke it out for victory, and it was Kristoff who emerged triumphant. The Norwegian kicked early and left Nikias Arndt (Giant-Alpecin) trailing in his wake before holding off Sagan for his second success in the space of three days.

Fighting spirit

Back at the team hotel, Sports Director Servais Knaven was pleased to report a full bill of health after more on-the-road crashes, and insists there will be plenty to fight for on Thursday.

He told TeamSky.com: "Our riders didn't have any significant problems today - Bradley suffered a flat tyre but was easily able to make his way back in the bunch. After that fast start we turned into a headwind which meant the stage was easier to control. 

"It was unfortunate a gap opened up right in front of Ian at the line as it meant he lost five seconds on Bodnar and Kristoff was able to move within nine seconds of him. Sagan also moved within four seconds of Luke in the white jersey classification. With bonus seconds awarded at the line, it means there's plenty for us to take into account heading into stage five. 

"There's chances of crosswinds tomorrow so it's vital we keep them both well positioned. I'm predicting an exciting day of racing."