Boonen wins Tour of Qatar

Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quickstep), who also won the race in 2006, 2008 and 2009, timed an overall 15hr 42min 14sec to give him a 28 seconds advantage over Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Barracuda) with Juan Antonio Flecha of Team Sky third at 33 seconds.

“I’ve never been interested in records,” said Boonen. “However it’s nice to win this race for the fourth time. After the good test in Argentina I wanted to win in Qatar. There were a lot of competitors here but I was also lucky that the route was adapted to my skills.

"I built my victory in the first stage and in the fourth stage - both were very difficult – then I concentrated on defending myself in the other stages. Today I didn’t want to take any risks, so as not to blow a week’s worth of work. I’m satisfied; this is my first step back to high level cycling.

"Now it will be important to stay calm and concentrate on fine tuning this conditioning. In Oman I’m going to be racing in support of my teammates, who have been fantastic in this start of 2012. There’s a great atmosphere on the team, I thank all of them for the fantastic job they’ve done for me. It would be a dream to be able to help one of them clinch a personal success.”

Demare of FDJ meanwhile held off Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha) and Mark Renshaw (Rabobank) as he crossed the line in 2hr 20min 44sec following the 120.5 km stage from Sealine Beach Resort to Doha Corniche which brought the final curtain down.

Demare, the 2011 World U23 champion, won his first pro race stage as the 20-year-old came through in a tight final mass sprint which saw the senior world champion, Mark Cavendish (Sky) crash.

"My teamates, notably Yoann (Offredo) and Mickael (Delage), placed me in ideal conditions in the final couple of kilometres - my legs were flying," said a delighted Demare.

"Tom Boonen and Tyler Farrar came to congratulate me - it's an extraordinary feeling. These are riders I admired from watching them on television."

At the start of the 6th and final stage Boonen could count on a 31 seconds advantage over main rival Farrar and it was looking good for the Belgian in his quest for a fourth crown.

The 117 remaining riders took off at a very fast pace making the best of a strong tailwind. The peloton rapidly broke up into several groups with all the main favourites in the first bunch of 50 or so riders.

But despite the speed (55.4kms covered during the first hour) things settled down after 25kms. The first bonus sprint (38.5km) was claimed by Farrar, gaining 3 extra seconds on Boonen, ahead of Gert Steegmans (Omega Pharma Quickstep)) and Flecha (Sky).

Just a few kilometres later, seven riders managed to break away: Maarten Tjallinghi (Rabobank), Klaas Lodewijck (BMC), Tony Gallopin (RadioShack-Nissan), Alan Marangoni (Liquigas-Cannondale), Jens Mouris (GreenEDGE), Mathieu Ladagnous (FDJ) and Mart Ojavee (Champion Systems).

Their lead went from 40 seconds at 47km to a maximum 2 minutes and 20 seconds at the second lap on the line of the 6-kilometre final circuit on the Doha Corniche (10 laps).

The second intermediate sprint (78.5km) was won by Lodewijck ahead of Gallopin and Ladagnous while the bunch remained 1 minute and 20 seconds adrift.

The front seven were finally caught at 105km and the peloton remained bunched all the way to the final straight were the sprint would take place.

Stage 6: 120.5km, Sealine Beach Resort to Doha Corniche.

1 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ-BigMat 2:20:44
2 Denis Galimzyanov (Rus) Katusha
3 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank
4 Roger Kluge (Ger) Project 1t4i
5 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha
6 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Barracuda
7 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
8 Allan Davis (Aus) GreenEDGE
9 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Champion System
10 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Belisol

Final general classification:

1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 15:42:14
2 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Barracuda 0:00:28
3 Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Sky 0:00:33
4 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:00:34
5 Tom Veelers (Ned) Project 1t4i 0:01:00
6 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky 0:01:05
7 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan 0:01:06
8 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Barracuda 0:01:09
9 Aidis Kruopis (Ltu) GreenEDGE 0:01:10
10 Adam Blythe (GBr) BMC 0:01:14