The second stage of the UAE Tour was also designed on the profile of the sprinters. 3 Gazprom-RusVelo riders tried to put a stop to that and fled early in the race.
Dmitry Strakhov gathered points from the 2 intermediate sprints and strengthened his leading position. Then he dropped down with his 2 teammates.
The peloton had to watch out for fan formation, but the wind did not play a role in the end. The peloton even dropped the pace completely when the day’s flight was settled.
Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) took the opportunity to put his red leader’s jersey in the spotlight. He mocked the slow pace by walking next to his bike.
In the last 20 kilometers the peloton got serious again and the drumming started for a place at the front of the pack.
The sprinters moved forward in the final kilometer, only Dylan Groenewegen (BikeExchange-Jayco) was a bit far and did not get to sprint. Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) was hindered by his own teammate and also had to pass for the sprint.
It became a battle between Mark Cavendish and Jasper Philipsen. In the end Cavendish managed to stay ahead of the Belgian and took the victory in the capital Abu Dhabi. Pascal Ackermann (UAE) sprinted to 3rd place.
Jasper Philipsen will start tomorrow’s time trial in the red leader’s jersey.
–
