World champion Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx-Protime) did not relinquish the overall victory on the final day of the UAE Tour. The final stage of the four-day race in the United Arab Emirates was won by the Dutch Amber Kraak (FDJ-Suez).
Source: BELGA
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The day after Kopecky’s impressive power grab in the only mountain stage, the UAE Tour ended with a flat final stage over 105 kilometers in Abu Dhabi. In the rain of course.
Kopecky’s Team SD Worx-Protime did not win the fourth stage after the previous three stages. 29-year-old Amber Kraak, a former top rower, rode away from a group of escapees in the final kilometers and was the only one to stay ahead of the chasing peloton. The Dutch Wiebes won the peloton sprint after a lead-out from Kopecky, but arrived too late to reassemble Kraak. Poland’s Daria Pikulik came third in the day’s results.
World champion Lotte Kopecky was more than happy with her final victory: “I had hoped for this final victory in advance, although I didn’t actually expect it. It is very nice to win this round. I really enjoyed my time here. UAE. (grins) And skydiving in Dubai, yes.”
In the final standings she is thirteen seconds ahead of New Zealand’s Neve Bradbury. It is the 36th professional victory for the 28-year-old Kopecky. The UAE Tour was the world champion’s first and only preparatory race for the classic spring. Her next race is the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, on February 24.
