photo credits @ UAE
Tim Merlier claimed stage 5 of the UAE Tour today, edging out Matteo Malucelli and Jonathan Milan in a crashed-marred finale at Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University, while Tadej Pogacar retained the overall lead.
Crashes split the peloton at the start of the final kilometer, creating a chaotic finish, with Pogacar opting for an unconventional strategy, spending more than 100km of the flat 160km stage in a breakaway
Speaking in the press conference, the stage winner Tim Merlier said: “I was thinking during the race that maybe I could win the fastest-ever stage of the UAE Tour. This is a WorldTour race, so it’s a very important one for all of us. Yesterday, there were several moves in the wind, and then I couldn’t find any slipstream anymore, I had to pass two riders to choose my moment and I saw Jonathan Milan was already starting his sprint. I was lacking a bit of speed. Today, I was coming back from a pee stop when Tadej Pogacar attacked and we started pulling then we asked for help from other teams. The guys did a very good job of bringing it back. I’m very satisfied with today’s victory”.
The Red Jersey Tadej Pogacar said: “It was not the plan to extend my lead throughout time bonuses today but the move happened in a funny moment just like last year at Volta Catalunya when Domen [Novak] came with me to the front but today, other guys followed as well and it turned out to be a breakaway. We just sort of committed, but we tried not to spend too much. It was a good day out, trying to keep the breakaway alive. We finished the stage much faster because of that. In the finale, my teammates tried to make a bubble around me behind the sprinters’ teams just to stay safe. For 90% of the peloton, it was a comfortable day on the road”.
Earlier, the breakaway was reeled in with 39 kilometers to go, over 100km after Pogacar’s attack.
As the speed ramped up once more a late crash took down multiple riders, with Paul Seixas (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Pablo Castrillo (Movistar) among those affected and forced to frantically chase back on. The sprint teams reassembled on the technical finish, navigating a late chicane, but plenty of riders were derailed by another late crash which bisected the peloton.
Only 15 or so riders were able to contest the sprint, but once Merlier and Milan put the hammer down it looked like there were only two potential winners. It was the Belgian who came out on top in this particular duel, and even the Italian was knocked down another place as his compatriot Malucelli produced the sprint of his life to take second.
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