photo credits @ UAE Tour
Fernando Gaviria of UAE Team Emirates met all expectations as he won his first sprint on his new team’s home soil, beating former team-mate Elia Viviani from Deceuninck – Quick-Step after he got a dream lead out by top sprinter Alexander Kristoff in Abu Dhabi. Crosswinds made Stage 2 a spectacular one with splits in the peloton before it came down to a bunch sprint.
“This is an important victory, not only for myself but also for my team and all our sponsors. This is a home win. I got a perfect lead out to sprint in optimal conditions. Before Alexander Kristoff, the whole team did a great job all day. I started sprinting with 200 metres to go. I have the legs for more victories before the end of the UAE Tour”, said Gaviria.
Meanwhile, Primoz Roglic of Team Jumbo – Visma retained the red jersey ahead of the uphill finish of Jebel Hafeet.
“It was quite a windy stage. We had some echelons, but I was in first group, thanks to the help of my team-mates, then everything came back together. I’ve learned from my experience at the Tour de France that I cannot miss the first echelons. I expect a lot of riders to attack me tomorrow. The UAE Tour is my first race after a training camp so I still can’t say how my legs will be tomorrow,” said Roglic.
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