Young rider classification leader Soren Andersen, overall leader Mark Cavendish and points classification leader Alexander Kristoff on the podium yesterday.
Hagen, who was in the front group of 25-odd riders, had a flat wheel twice with just 8km left to go. By the time he was back on a new bike, he was 40 seconds down in the chasing bunch.
Earlier, with around 14km to go, on the last of the four laps of the finish circuit, the split happened under the pressure of cross winds and an attack from LottoNL-Jumbo.
“S*** happens,” Boasson Hagen said. “Yeah, it would’ve been a big win, but now my victory chances are gone. I can’t do much about it,” the 28-year-old rider, who won two stages of Tour de France in 2011, said.
“First I got a flat on the front. Well, actually it was a double puncture but I only realised the front wheel at the time,” Hagen said.
“I stopped, got a new front wheel and then I started going again, but then I realised I had a flat at the back too. A double flat and then the group was gone and it was too hard to chase.
“It was too fast up front, they were too far away and it was hard to get back. But the side wind in the final kilometre allowed Katusha to put their rivals in the gutter and so the front group split and was scattered in the wind. Cavendish stayed with the leading riders but was not on Kristoff’s wheel. He tried to make his own sprint but faded in the wind and finished out of the time bonuses.
Cavendish was among the leaders but entered the final 1km at the back of the group and finished fifth to retake the lead he lost to his teammate Hagen after the time trial Stage 3.
“It was horrible to lose first and second position rider in such a disappointing way. Edvald punctured in the last 10km and unfortunately Lotto Jumbo went full gas, BMC as well but obviously they had a reason to but Jumbo don’t have anyone on GC so it was a bit sad,” Manx man said.
“All the guys waited for Edvald to try and bring him back. It was a full cross-tail finish so it means you need a full team with you otherwise you just going to be hammered in the gutter. So we put all our eggs in Edvald’s basket and I knew I just needed to bury myself deep and we’d still hang onto the jersey anyway,” the 30-year-old Briton said.
Manx Missile has taken a slender two-second lead over BMC’s Greg van Avermaet into today’s fifth and final stage to Doha.
“The team rode incredibly strongly today. Matt and Mekseb controlled the race alone, with no help from any other teams and that was awesome to see for 190km. Honestly we got to pay back the good work the guys have done all week and hold on to the jersey tomorrow,” Cavendish said.
Kristoff defeated his Katusha teammate Jacopo Guarnieri and Belgian Van Avermaet to the line for the second win of the tour.
“The team did a really good job in the final kilometre, putting me with really good speed into the sprint,” said Kristoff. “For me it was just to finish it off and keep the other guys behind me. I knew Cavendish was there but I think he was stuck a bit behind so it went perfectly for our team.”
The 28-year-old Norwegian, who won three stages and the points classification in Qatar last year, is now fourth and just nine seconds behind overall leader Cavendish of Dimension Data.
“The general classification will be decided tomorrow. Cavendish is leading the race and he is not a slow man, so if it comes down to bonus seconds I think, if he’s not unlucky, he will protect his lead, but it is quite open.”
The longest stage in this year’s tour, covering 189km from Al Zubarah Fort to Madinat Al Shamal, began at high speed, with 50km covered in the first hour. Though the road surface was generally good, the edges were littered with gravel and riders suffered an unusually high number of punctures.
After a number of early attacks, a group of nine riders, including Briton Mark McNally of Wanty-Groupe Gobert, forced their way clear of the peloton. The escape built a lead in excess of two minutes, though immediately after the first intermediate sprint, just before a section of cross winds, the gap began to tumble under the impetus by BMC.
Talking about Hagen’s misfortune, Dimension Data director Roger Hammond said: “They rode a perfect stage, they were in control all the time and then there was a puncture at the worst possible time. But what can you do; only try to rectify it.”
The fifth and final stage is 114km long and finishes on the Doha Corniche. With time bonuses up for grabs in two intermediate sprints during the 10 laps of the Corniche, and again at the finish, every second will help decide the overall winner of this year’s race.
RESULTS
STAGE FOUR
1. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha 3:57:12
2. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
3. Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Team Katusha
4. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Argon 18
5. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data
6. Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team
7. Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Katusha +0:00:06
8. Soren K Andersen (Den) Giant-Alpecin +0:00:08
9. Moreno Hofland (Ned) LottoNl-Jumbo +0:00:09
10. Michael Morkov (Den) Katusha
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data 10:51:13
2. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC +0:00:02
3. Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC +0:00:06
4. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha +0:00:09
5. Edvald B Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data +0:00:19
6. Soren K Andersen (Den) Giant-Alpecin +0:00:30
7. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Argon 18 +0:00:41
8. Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) Katusha +0:00:49
9. Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Katusha +0:00:50
10. Michael Schar (Swi) BMC +0:00:58
POINTS CLASSIFICATION
1. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha 42 pts
2. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data 42
3. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team 31
4. Edvald B Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data 29
5. Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team 17
6. Sacha Modolo (Ita) Lampre - Merida 17
7. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Argon 18 14
8. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 12
9. Andrea Guardini (Ita) Astana Pro Team 9
10. Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Team Katusha 9
YOUNG RIDER CLASSIFICATION
1. Soren K Andersen (Den) Giant-Alpecin 10:51:43
2. Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) Katusha +0:00:19
3. Moreno Hofland (Ned) LottoNl-Jumbo +0:02:12
4. Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha +0:02:36
5. Daniel Eaton (USA) UnitedHealthcare +0:02:54
6. Simone Antonini (Ita) Wanty-Groupe Gobert +0:03:04
7. Soufiane Haddi (Mar) Skydive Dubai +0:03:10
8. Xhuliano Kamberaj (Alb) Skydive Dubai +0:03:36
9. Mekseb Debesay (Eri) Dimension Data +0:07:38
10. Mike Teunissen (Ned) LottoNl-Jumbo +0:08:33
TEAMS CLASSIFICATION
1. BMC Racing Team 32:34:27
2. Team Katusha +0:00:57
3. Bora-Argon 18 +0:02:03
4. Dimension Data +0:03:55
5. Astana Pro Team +0:06:09
6. Team LottoNl-Jumbo +0:06:26
7. Fortuneo - Vital Concept +0:07:31
8. Wanty - Groupe Gobert +0:09:30
9. Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise +0:09:56
10. UnitedHealthcare Professional +0:10:13