Tour of Qatar

[limerickman]

Tour of Qatar is on at the moment.

Tom Boonen won the third stage of the race.
Mark Cavendish punctured in the final 2 kms and could therefore not challenge as Boonen, as he (Boonen) held off second place Napolitano for Team Katyusha.

Roger Hammond, who won the opening stage, remains 6th on GC.

 

[Tech72]

I've been to Qatar. In terms of terrain, it is an absolutely flat landscape with nothing but perfectly paved, wide, straight roads. The highway overpass is the highest climb in the land. I can only imagine how mind-numbingly boring the racing must be for the racers and fans. For the riders, all stages end in a mass sprint on similar 8-lane roads, won by the same guys. For the fans, the peloton flies past at 40-60km/h, kicking up a small sandstorm.....

Merckx is only endorsing this race and for Qatar to host the start of an upcoming TdF because he's getting paid suitcase loads of oil cash.

 

[Eldrack]

These early season races that have pancake flat stages raise some interesting points really. Sure they're boring, but so are the flat stages in the Grand Tours. So is the Eneco tour (worst race evaaaaar). I guess you could say that the races are more for the riders than the fans (although I guess watching the final sprint is an entertaining 5 minutes). Allows them to get some high speed kilometers into their legs, gets them back riding with the pack etc after their winter off. In that sense they are useful. Just as flat stages in a Grand Tour provide time for the GC contenders to recover.

So keep these silly little races. We don't have to watch anything other than the last five minutes if we don't want too and it gets the riders back into the swing of things ready to compete for the better races later in the year.

 

[limerickman]

Both of you have valid points.


If the parcours is pan flat, as Tech says, the stages are predictable.

But as Eldtrack says seeing how badly, or how well, the likes of Boonen and Cavendish are going, is interesting.

 

[Eldrack]

I'd also like to point out the the first man across the line for three off the four stages has been a Brit! Therefore the Tour of Qatar is the best race in the world and GB has the best road cycling team in the.... ok now I'm getting carried away.

 

[jonjungel]

From reading the reports on cyclingnews, there seems to be quite some time gaps this year because of strong winds. Though I agree that flat stages are mostly boring, I think some of the Quatar stages this year would have been ok viewing.

 

[whiteboytrash]

From reading the reports on cyclingnews, there seems to be quite some time gaps this year because of strong winds. Though I agree that flat stages are mostly boring, I think some of the Quatar stages this year would have been ok viewing.

Way more exciting that the TDU......

I read that all the teams stay in 6 star hotels and get a kings feast in food. They love it out there. All very relaxed. I'm surprised they didn't get Armstrong across with the sort of money thats on offer. Perhaps next year now that he and ASO are loved up again ?

 

[Tech72]

If you're a (preferrably caucasian) foreigner in the oil/cash rich middleast countries, ie Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, you are treated like dignitaries. The best of everything, hotels, cabs, food, services, etc. One can get blinded by this superior treatment.

But on the other side, if you are a foreigner from a 3rd world nation hired for menial or labor, you are nothing more than a modern day slave. Shitty and unfair treatment, no protection from the law or exploitation of any kind. There is an unwritten heirachy for foreigners in the these countries (as many others I'm sure).

Ok, rant over. Let's get back to how crappy flat road races are.

 

[Jono L]

From reading the reports on cyclingnews, there seems to be quite some time gaps this year because of strong winds. Though I agree that flat stages are mostly boring, I think some of the Quatar stages this year would have been ok viewing.

Yeh average speed for stage 3, 53kph, and for stage 4, 34 kph.

It seems unless you have the perfect head or cross wind its a sprint to get to the front the moment the flag drops then its bang, gutter, echelon, suffer. Sounds like errrr fun

 

[Rolfrae]

Belgian rider passes away in Qatar

By Gregor Brown in Doha, Qatar



Frederiek Nolf died in his sleep last night at the Doha Ritz-Carlton in Qatar, ahead of the fifth stage of the Tour of Qatar. The Belgian of Team Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator, who would have celebrated his 22nd birthday in five days, is believed to have suffered a heart attack.

"Cycling is in mourning when you lose such a young talent, a guy like him," said cycling legend Eddy Merckx, who is the technical sponsor for the team.

Nolf turned professional in 2008 with Topsport Vlaanderen. The Tour of Qatar was his first race of the 2009 season. He finished 90th in yesterday's 141-kilometre stage four to Madinat Al Shamal, which Mark Cavendish won.

Directeur Sportif Jean-Pierre Heynderickx found Nolf dead this morning.

"I rode with the guys here earlier this week in Qatar. Yesterday, he was laughing and happy; he never woke up and died in his sleep," Merckx said.

Topsport will not start stage five from Al Kharaib track to Qatar's capital city, Doha. The remaining seven riders will ride to the start of the stage. The team announced it will also pull out of the Etoile de Bessèges, currently held in France.

Organiser Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) shortened the stage out of respect for Nolf. It will also be neutralised.

It's not the first time this type of occurrence has hit a cycling event. In 2003, 23-year-old French rider Fabrice Salanson died in his sleep during the Tour of Germany. Then-teammate Sylvain Chavanel found the La Brioche Boulangère rider dead in his room.

The Tour of Qatar, February 1 to 6, is in its eighth year. The same organiser as the Tour de France, the Amaury Sport Organisation, runs it. Tom Boonen is the current general classification leader.

 

[limerickman]

Belgian rider passes away in Qatar

By Gregor Brown in Doha, Qatar



Frederiek Nolf died in his sleep last night at the Doha Ritz-Carlton in Qatar, ahead of the fifth stage of the Tour of Qatar. The Belgian of Team Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator, who would have celebrated his 22nd birthday in five days, is believed to have suffered a heart attack.

"Cycling is in mourning when you lose such a young talent, a guy like him," said cycling legend Eddy Merckx, who is the technical sponsor for the team.

Nolf turned professional in 2008 with Topsport Vlaanderen. The Tour of Qatar was his first race of the 2009 season. He finished 90th in yesterday's 141-kilometre stage four to Madinat Al Shamal, which Mark Cavendish won.

Directeur Sportif Jean-Pierre Heynderickx found Nolf dead this morning.

"I rode with the guys here earlier this week in Qatar. Yesterday, he was laughing and happy; he never woke up and died in his sleep," Merckx said.

Topsport will not start stage five from Al Kharaib track to Qatar's capital city, Doha. The remaining seven riders will ride to the start of the stage. The team announced it will also pull out of the Etoile de Bessèges, currently held in France.

Organiser Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) shortened the stage out of respect for Nolf. It will also be neutralised.

It's not the first time this type of occurrence has hit a cycling event. In 2003, 23-year-old French rider Fabrice Salanson died in his sleep during the Tour of Germany. Then-teammate Sylvain Chavanel found the La Brioche Boulangère rider dead in his room.

The Tour of Qatar, February 1 to 6, is in its eighth year. The same organiser as the Tour de France, the Amaury Sport Organisation, runs it. Tom Boonen is the current general classification leader.

Thanks Rolf for the update.

dreadful news for the riders family.

R.I.P.

 

[Flyer]

Belgian rider passes away in Qatar

By Gregor Brown in Doha, Qatar



Frederiek Nolf died in his sleep last night at the Doha Ritz-Carlton in Qatar, ahead of the fifth stage of the Tour of Qatar. The Belgian of Team Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator, who would have celebrated his 22nd birthday in five days, is believed to have suffered a heart attack.

"Cycling is in mourning when you lose such a young talent, a guy like him," said cycling legend Eddy Merckx, who is the technical sponsor for the team.

Nolf turned professional in 2008 with Topsport Vlaanderen. The Tour of Qatar was his first race of the 2009 season. He finished 90th in yesterday's 141-kilometre stage four to Madinat Al Shamal, which Mark Cavendish won.

Directeur Sportif Jean-Pierre Heynderickx found Nolf dead this morning.

"I rode with the guys here earlier this week in Qatar. Yesterday, he was laughing and happy; he never woke up and died in his sleep," Merckx said.

Topsport will not start stage five from Al Kharaib track to Qatar's capital city, Doha. The remaining seven riders will ride to the start of the stage. The team announced it will also pull out of the Etoile de Bessèges, currently held in France.

Organiser Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) shortened the stage out of respect for Nolf. It will also be neutralised.

It's not the first time this type of occurrence has hit a cycling event. In 2003, 23-year-old French rider Fabrice Salanson died in his sleep during the Tour of Germany. Then-teammate Sylvain Chavanel found the La Brioche Boulangère rider dead in his room.

The Tour of Qatar, February 1 to 6, is in its eighth year. The same organiser as the Tour de France, the Amaury Sport Organisation, runs it. Tom Boonen is the current general classification leader.

33eee

 

[whiteboytrash]

Well I take back everything I said about the TDU. After watching the ToQ on EuroSport tonight I think it's taken the title of worlds most boring race. It was a 125km straight sprint. It was one straight road & not one fan in sight. In fact the EuroSport crew were running wagers that there would be more team cars than fans on todays stage !

btw/ Tour of California is live on EuroSport from Saturday.

WBT out.

 

[tonyzackery]

If you're a (preferrably caucasian) foreigner in the oil/cash rich middleast countries, ie Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, you are treated like dignitaries. The best of everything, hotels, cabs, food, services, etc. One can get blinded by this superior treatment.

But on the other side, if you are a foreigner from a 3rd world nation hired for menial or labor, you are nothing more than a modern day slave. Shitty and unfair treatment, no protection from the law or exploitation of any kind. There is an unwritten heirachy for foreigners in the these countries (as many others I'm sure).

Ok, rant over. Let's get back to how crappy flat road races are.

And most certainly they don't check your passport before misstreating a non-caucasian foreigner - myself being an American of African descent.

Appreciate the heads-up. Nothing I haven't already surmised from my experiences with some Arabs in North America. Good to know that I can immediately eliminate Qatar, et al from my 'to visit' list.

 

[Flyer]

Belgian rider passes away in Qatar

By Gregor Brown in Doha, Qatar



Frederiek Nolf died in his sleep last night at the Doha Ritz-Carlton in Qatar, ahead of the fifth stage of the Tour of Qatar. The Belgian of Team Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator, who would have celebrated his 22nd birthday in five days, is believed to have suffered a heart attack.

"Cycling is in mourning when you lose such a young talent, a guy like him," said cycling legend Eddy Merckx, who is the technical sponsor for the team.

Nolf turned professional in 2008 with Topsport Vlaanderen. The Tour of Qatar was his first race of the 2009 season. He finished 90th in yesterday's 141-kilometre stage four to Madinat Al Shamal, which Mark Cavendish won.

Directeur Sportif Jean-Pierre Heynderickx found Nolf dead this morning.

"I rode with the guys here earlier this week in Qatar. Yesterday, he was laughing and happy; he never woke up and died in his sleep," Merckx said.

Topsport will not start stage five from Al Kharaib track to Qatar's capital city, Doha. The remaining seven riders will ride to the start of the stage. The team announced it will also pull out of the Etoile de Bessèges, currently held in France.

Organiser Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) shortened the stage out of respect for Nolf. It will also be neutralised.

It's not the first time this type of occurrence has hit a cycling event. In 2003, 23-year-old French rider Fabrice Salanson died in his sleep during the Tour of Germany. Then-teammate Sylvain Chavanel found the La Brioche Boulangère rider dead in his room.

The Tour of Qatar, February 1 to 6, is in its eighth year. The same organiser as the Tour de France, the Amaury Sport Organisation, runs it. Tom Boonen is the current general classification leader.

wwe

 

[Tech72]

As a tourist travel destination, I think there are so many better places to visit than say, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE and Kuwait.

These places were nothing more than desolate, barren desert 50 years ago. But since the discovery of oil in the region and the subsequent control and managing of the oil and associated finances, these places are now cash rich and have exploded with concrete and skyscrapers popping up every few months. Everything is new and sparkling on an absolutely massive scale, but devoid of any soul, character or sensibility. A class system and human heirachy scale exists and still thriving in these countries.

I've spend time in these places for business over the years. The luxuries are endless for the priviledged few, including western businessmen. The hype of Dubai is overwhelming; the largest, tallest, biggest, most luxurious, grandest of everything that money can buy or build. But at the end of the day, I couldn't wait to catch the next first-class flight out.

Ok, second rant over. How crappy are flat road races in the desert again?

 

[whiteboytrash]

Ok, second rant over. How crappy are flat road races in the desert again?

I can't believe how bad it was. I'm not sure why they even televised it. I mean they just all rode flat out for 125km until someone crossed the line. There were a couple of crashes & problem being they ripped nine layers of skin off because there was just hard rock desert next to the road rather than your Euro grassy knoll.

 

[slovakguy]

so can we all agree that if you kick a few million the uci's way, you get to have a bunch of guests over for a week or two so that they can get in shape without having to shiver in a european winter? personally, i would kick in a few dollars to help sponsor the "tour de limerickman's living room & neighbourhood pubs". not that i'm trying to rub the uci's nose in their shameless greed or anything like that.

 

[limerickman]

ES had todays stage live on TV : basically it involved pedalling along the sea front of Doha City.
Nice scenery.

Nice win for Cavendish too.

 

[limerickman]

Boonen looks in pretty good shape at the ToQ too.