Even though sprinters usually have that sixth sense allowing them to know which one has crossed the finish line first before the result in confirmed by the photo-finish analyses, Andre Greipel patiently waited for the verdict to come, saying he was narrowly oversprinted by Tom Boonen on the penultimate stage of Tour of Qatar. The big German acknowledged the result with a greater poise than his most reliable lead-out men, but still claimed to be satisfied with his sprint and the work done by his team-mates earlier in the race.

 

The highly anticipated carnage in the cross-tailwinds has never become a reality today at the fourth stage of the Tour of Qatar, but it was enough to made up for an extremely fast and nervous race. As those circumstances were perfectly predictable it shouldn’t appear as any surprise that the Belgian classics specialist, known for his ability to generate some extra power after long hours of very demanding racing, managed to claim the victory over Greipel.

 

Boonen seemed sure about edging the German sprinter on the finish line, as he instantly celebrated his victory with an exultant shout, but Greipel wasn’t convinced about his defeat until the bad news from the photo-finish analysis were brough to him by Lotto Belisol sports director Bart Leysen.

 

"Ah, you fucking idiot!" Greipel’s lead-out man Marcel Sieberg shouted with mock anger, glad to break the tension and keen to lift his sprinter's spirits.

 

While the group of reporters gathered around the Lotto Belisol car, the Gorilla was very reluctant at first to share his own reflections over the most recent happenings.

 

"You should go and talk to QuickStep - they won," he said.

 

When he finally decided to cooperate, it turned out that the German sprinter was perfectly satisfied with his own sprint and the work done by his lead-out men on the way to the finish line, even though he expected Boonen to be extremely strong after the whole day of racing in unfriendly conditions.

 

"We made the lead out and I had to go because, yeah, I thought it was the right moment to surprise people," he said of his decision to come off lead-out man Jürgen Roelandt's wheel and open the sprint.

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"Yeah, it was like normal," Greipel said. "There was a bit of a slight head-crosswind. Ok, Tom is fast, but I think I did a good sprint."

 

"It was not easy but he proved it already in the past that after a hard race, he's one of the strongest. But still I made a good sprint and the team supported me really well in the lead-out," Greipel said.

 

"It was hard for everyone but I made a good sprint, I think. Ok, Tom won but that's racing."

 

Acknowledging that Boonen told reporters about undergoing some specific training meant to improve explosiveness during his exceptionally long winter break, Greipel praised efficiency of those efforts in a rather intriguing way..

 

"I don't know what he's training, but he's fast," Greipel said.