photo credits @ UAE Tour
Antonio Tiberi took the overall lead of the UAE Tour from Remco Evenepoel after winning stage 3 today. The Bahrain Victorius rider pipped Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) by 15 seconds, with Belgian Lennert Van Eetvelt finishing 29 seconds behind in third place.
Meanwhile, Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) struggled during the final climb, where gradients reached 12%, losing more than two minutes, and forcing the Belgian rider to relinquish his red jersey to his Italian rival.
Earlier, Alpecin-Premier Tech duo of Jonas Rickaert and Silvan Dillier formed the day’s first breakaway effort. However, they were eventually reined in on the climb of Jebel Mobrah with 12km to go.
Chris Harper (Pinarello-Q36.5) decided to attack from there, only to be reeled back in after being out front for just a few kilometers.
Next came an attack from Junior Lecerf (Soudal-QuickStep) with 6km remaining, whose move was quickly marked by Felix Gall and Tiberi, with Remco Evenepoel closing the gap quickly as well, while del Toro failed to stay on terms with the flurry of moves.
Gall later distanced Tiberi, but the Austrian rider was soon caught, while Evenepoel could be seen struggling to keep pace, subsequently losing valuable time during the final 3km.
With 2.5km to go, Del Toro shook off any signs of struggle to attack, with only Van Eetvelt able to mark his move. But, a determined Del Toro chased in earnest, looking strong enough to catch Tiberi.
However, the Bahrain rider refused to let up during final kilometer to claim the victory, and with it the overall race lead.
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