photo credits @UAE Tour
Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) claimed today’s time-trial stage, stopping the clock at 13:27 after covering the 12.1 km pan-flat course around Al Hudayriyat Island.
The only riders that could come close to the US time trial champion were his own teammates, with UAE Team Emirates finishing 1-2-3 on the stage as Jay Vine and Mikkel Bjerg took second and third, two and four seconds down on the lead respectively.
Meanwhile, lan Van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step), Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) all put in impressive performances, with all finishing in the top 15 and within 30 seconds of McNulty.
“We were looking at the wind, and they decided that the wind would pick up at least a little bit throughout the day, so we put our best three guys to start first. It paid off, I guess,” McNulty said, after spending most of the day in the lead.
“Personally it was good. I wasn’t sure how I was feeling because the power wasn’t reading quite right I don’t think, but I think I had good speed, I was looking at that the whole TT, and in the end obviously, I have to be satisfied because I won. The team’s put so much into the time trial set-up, I think it’s really paying off for everyone.”
“I had my first GC win a couple of weeks ago and now my first WorldTour time trial – it’s been a good month.”
McNulty and UAE Team Emirate will now begin its defense of the race leader’s red jersey ahead of tomorrow’s stage 3, a 176 km route that finishes atop Jebel Jais.
The climb is officially 21.6km long but on smooth and wide roads. The first part is at 4.4%, a long middle section is at 5.7%, while the final three kilometers are at 7.1%, suiting power climbers like McNulty.
Sunday’s final stage to Jebel Hafeet is steeper and likely to be decisive.
“It’s tough to say,” McNulty said modestly when asked if he can defend the race lead.
“We have a hard day tomorrow (Wednesday) and Jebel Hafeet is a tough climb. But we are in a good position. Adam Yates is also one of the best on this climb, so I think we have a good chance.”
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