DOHA — Mark Cavendish contined his fine form Wednesday as the Isle of Man speedster won for the second straight day by taking the fourth stage of the Tour of Qatar and seizing the overall lead. The British rider who is in his first season with Omega Pharma-Quick Step after a move from Team Sky, won a mass sprint after 160km of racing between the Camel Race Track and Al-Khor Corniche. He came home ahead of Dutchman Barry Markus of Vacansoleil – in a repeat 1-2 finish in stage 3 – while Astana's Andrea Guardini of Italy claimed third spot. The 27-year-old who has picked up 23 stage wins on the Tour de France, a record for a sprinter and fourth all-time, now has six victories on the roads of Qatar and takes the gold jersey from American Brent Bookwalter by two seconds. The penultimate stage will see the peloton travel over 154km from Al Zubara Fort to Madinat Al-Shamal, before the final day Friday and the race conclusion at Doha. Schleck drops out of Tour of Mediterranean Former Tour de France champion Andy Schleck dropped out of the Tour of Mediterranean Wednesday, without completing the first stage. “He was in difficulty during the descent at the Fourches climb,” said a the race commissioner about Schleck, who had started to struggle at the 44km mark of the 146.5km run from Limoux to Gruissan. The pull-out is yet another setback for the 27-year-old 2010 Tour de France winner who dropped out of the season-opening Tour Down Under in the final stage and has been hit by a spate of injuries that meant he failed to start the 2012 Tour de France. Germany's Andre Greipel leads the five-day race after winning the first stage in a sprint finish. Wiggins out of Mallorca Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins pulled out of the final stage of the Mallorca Challenge Wednesday with over 100 kilometers of the race remaining. There was an even more agonizing withdrawal for Wiggins' Team Sky teammate Ben Swift who was taken to hospital after crashing on the final descent of the 170km stage from Can Picafort to Playa del Muro. — Agencies
