EN BREF
| Stage winner | Bernhard EISEL |
 (golden jersey) |
Tom BOONEN |
 (silver jersey) |
Tom BOONEN |
 (blue jersey) |
Matti BRESCHEL |
TOUS LES CLASSEMENTS
| Stage |
|---|
 |
|
• Individual time • Individual points • Best young • Best team |
|
| Overall |
|
|
• Individual time • Individual points • Best young • Best team |
ÉTAPES PAR ÉTAPES
| 1 | Monday 30 January | 131.5 km |
| Khalifa Stadium > Al Khor Corniche | ||
| 2 | Tuesday 31 January | 138 km |
| Camel Race Track > Al Khor Corniche | ||
| 3 | Wednesday 1 February | 160 km |
| Sealine Beach Resort > Khalifa Stadium | ||
| 4 | Thursday 2 February | 144 km |
| Al Zubarah > Qatar Olympic Committee | ||
| 5 | Friday 3 February | 151.5 km |
| Al Thakhira > Doha Corniche | ||
| Total | 725 km | |
LA COURSE
Thursday 2 February 2006| stage 4 | Al Zubarah > Qatar Olympic Committee - 144 km |  |
 |
|---|
Eisel surprises Boonen!
The day’s stage 4 again ended with a bunched sprint finish but on Doha’s Corniche, young Austrian Bernhard Eisel (Française des Jeux) beat Erik Zabel and Tom Boonen who had won the first three stages and keeps his overall leader’s golden jersey.
LE FILM DE L'ÉTAPE
Warm weather and sunny sky, light winds;128 riders at the start.
Very fast start!
After only 2 kilometres, the pack broke up into three groups after a very fast start to the race. It bunched up together again at km 10 after quite a few riders suffered punctures. Break away attempts occurred but proved to be vain all the way to the first intermediate sprint Madinat al Shamal (km 21,5) won by Zabel, ahead of Vierhouten (unclassified for irregular sprint) and Clerc.
Steegmans takes off
After a move from the CSC riders, a group of 24 riders took off at km 47, including 7 CSC men and the holders of the three leading jerseys. After enjoying an 18" lead the pack caught up the leading group at km 54. At km 61, Steegmans broke away, taking with him Fisher, Galdos, Eeckhout and Veneberg. The five men had a 1’35’’ lead at km 65. Five kilometres later, the gap grew to 5 minutes.
Phonak hunting
The maximum lead of the escapees was of 7’10’’ at the feeding zone on North Road (km 80) before the Phonak riders took control of the chase> At the second intermediate sprint in Umm Suwaiya, won by Fischer ahead of Galdos and Eeckhout, the gap dropped to 6’15’’ and then 5’40’’ at the entrance of Al Khor, with 50 km remaining.
Fischer and Eeckhout insist
As the chase stopped for a while, the escapees kept command of the stage with a 4’25’’ lead with 25 km to go and then 3’40’’ with 20 km. The pack under the control of the Quick Step riders eased up the pace, with Tom Boonen, the Golden Jersey himself giving a helping hand. The gap dropped quickly: 1’55’’ at km 130 while quite a few attacks occurred in the front group. Indeed Fischer and Eeckhout managed to take off.
Boonen beaten!
As the five leaders bunched up together again with 5 km to go, the pack moved closer: 35 seconds. Victory was to be decided after a bunched sprint despite a last attempt from Eeckhout. Despite being well launched by his Quick Step team mates, Tom Boonen failed to capture a fourth straight win in the last few metres> The win indeed went to Austrian Bernhard Eisel ahead of Erik Zabel.
LE MAGAZINE
He beat Boonen but...
Unbeaten since the World Championships, the winner of the Doha Grand-Prix is impressive on the roads of the Tour of Qatar. Tom Boonen looked to be the man to beat in this start to the cycling season. The Belgian rider insisted that "it is difficult to win the Tour du Qatar and especially to win all the stages. I’m a man not a robot. All the sprints are different so to win them all is difficult."
The man who managed the impossible mission is called Bernhard Eisel and rides for the Française des Jeux team. Already faster than Boonen on the last Tour of Switzerland, the Austrian stopped Boonen’s winning run. "It’s the second time that I beat him but there is no secret to beat Boonen. He had a mechanical problem. He did his sprint with a 53/12, and I had an 11. That made the difference. It’s a surprise for me because during the last few days I was at the limit although I felt better yesterday. This morning, I spoke to Cancellara and I told him that I had no chance of winning. He told me that it was all in the head, and he was right..."
For John Lelangue, General Manager of the Phonak team, "it’s impossible to beat Tom Boonen on this Tour of Qatar on a regular basis. Later in the season, when the other teams will have trained together, it’ll certainly change".
Alain Gallopin, the CSC team director believes that "the wind or a mechanical problem can beat Boonen".
Well both team managers proved to be wrong!