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Rookie Van Avermaet claims victory

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MESAIEED, Qatar -- Rookie Greg Van Avermaet of the Predictor-Lotto team sprinted to his first win as a professional as he took the fifth and penultimate stage of the Tour of Qatar on Thursday.

Belgium's Van Avermaet emerged as the winner from a 10-man breakaway group after 156-kilometers from Al-Zubarah to Mesaieed.

Fellow Belgian Wilfried Cretskens, who was also part of the decisive breakaway, snatched the race leader's jersey from teammate and compatriot Tom Boonen, who finished more than two minutes down along with the main chasing pack.

Van Avermaet was overjoyed with his stage win. "It's my first season and already my first success amid the professionals," said the 21-year-old.

"I know I'm quick - that was my strength in the amateur ranks - but against my new breakaway companions, I really lacked any markers and I had no idea of my level compared to them. Now I've got them," he joked.

Cretskens was encouraged by Boonen to take his chance.

"Today was my day. Tom (Boonen) had told us to go with the breakaways. That appealed to me, even if for a moment I thought the peloton was going to catch us up."

Friday's sixth and final stage sees riders tackling a 134 kilometers leg between Sealine Beach and Doha.

Ullrich sample

Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich has given a saliva specimen to be used for a DNA comparison with a blood sample seized in a Spanish doping investigation.

Ullrich gave the sample Thursday in Konstanz, Germany, near his residence across the Swiss border, his manager Wolfgang Strohband said.

Prosecutors in Bonn want to compare the two samples in a DNA analysis that could prove the use of performance-enhancing drugs or clear Ullrich, who is looking for a new team in time for the start of the Tour de France on July 7. He won the race in 1997.

Ullrich objected earlier this week to the use of a saliva sample taken in Switzerland in September, but said he was ready to give a specimen in Germany.

The 32-year-old German has been without a team since T-Mobile fired him after he was linked to the Spanish doping scandal. Several teams have expressed interest in signing him if cleared, but Ullrich will need a new license to race after turning in his Swiss one.

Spanish authorities have agreed to hand over one of the bags of frozen blood found in last April's raid on a Madrid clinic linked to alleged doping of up to 57 cyclists.

Ullrich and Ivan Basso, the pre-race favorites, were among the riders barred from last year's Tour de France. Tour officials have warned that cyclists linked to the Spanish scandal could be expelled again.

Ullrich is under investigation in Germany because of a complaint from a professor that his alleged drug use represented fraud.

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