photo credits @ UAE Tour
Tim Merlier dominated the final sprint of the UAE Tour today, securing his third consecutive win at the Abu Dhabi Breakwater finish line.
With a perfectly timed sprint, the Belgian rider edged out Jasper Philipsen and Green Jersey wearer Jonathan Milan, bringing his total to seven stage wins.
The sprint finish was far from guaranteed, as the peloton only caught the last two breakaway survivors, Carlos Samudio and Manuele Tarozzi, with just 2.5 km to go.
The duo had been part of a four-man breakaway that also featured Kristian Sbaragli and Black Jersey holder Djordje Djuric.
Tomorrow, the decisive stage for the general classification unfolds with the summit finish at Jebel Hafeet. Red Jersey leader Tadej Pogacar will start with a 21″ advantage over Joshua Tarling and 27″ over Ivan Romeo.
The Finale
The day’s final sprint came at Qasr Al Hosn with 23km remaining. With the peloton closing to within a minute of the break, Vini Fantini worked once again to deliver Đurić the full eight points. With Tarozzi taking third place, the Serbian added another five points to his total to lead by 15 heading into the final day.
From there, it was up to the sprint squads, with Soudal-QuickStep, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, and Picnic-PostNL among the teams leading the chase into the final 10km. Đurić and Sabaragli were the first riders from the break brought back, dropping away from Tarozzi and Samudio with 5km to go.
The remaining duo kept battling on with an ever-slimming advantage on the wide roads running towards the finish, however. But with multiple sprint trains lining up across the highway, their time was numbered.
In the end, the final catch was made at 2.5km from the line, leaving the sprint teams to fight over the final kilometers.
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