The second stage finish on the Jebel Hafeet ascent ended up with a very tight victory for Tadej Pogacar. The Slovenian threw his bike to the line to overhaul Kazakhstan national champion Alexey Lutsenko at the last second. Third placed Adam Yates secured the overall lead after trying to break clear despite the gusts of wind up the hill. Two relatively flat stages will bring the UAE Tour to a conclusion in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Adam Yates on the podium with H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Under-Security of the Court of the Abu Dhabi Ruler's Representative in the Al Ain Region, H.E. Aref Hamad Al Awani, General Secretary of Abu Dhabi Sports Council and Saeed Khalifa Bin Sulaiman, Emirates Senior Manager Abu Dhabi and Al Ain
STAGE RESULT
1 - Tadej Pogacar, 162km in 3h48’53”, average speed 42.467km/h
2 - Alexey Lutsenko s.t.
3 - Adam Yates s.t.
- The Red Jersey, sponsored by Emirates (General individual classification by time) - Adam Yates
- The Green Jersey, sponsored by Mubadala (General individual classification by points) - Caleb Ewan
- The White Jersey, sponsored by Nakheel (Best Young Rider born after 1 January 1995) - Tadej Pogacar
- The Black Jersey, sponsored by Abu Dhabi Aviation (Intermediate Sprint Jersey Classification) - Veljko Stojnic
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 - Adam Yates
2 - Tadej Pogacar at 1'01"
3 - Alexey Lutsenko at 1'33"
PRESS CONFERENCE
The Red Jersey leader of the GC Adam Yates said: “I felt good. For sure two days ago I got a big advantage but today all I did was stay with other key guys and out of trouble. That’s what it is. It’s all good. For sure I don’t want to lose the lead of this race any time soon. The next two stages are fairly flat but we’ll have to pay attention to the wind. Today it was windy and there were a lot of nervous guys, so we’ll just have to keep calm. Hopefully in two days’ time I’ll be here again to comment on the overall victory. It would be nice to get the first win in the first race of the season. I’ve been training well and the condition is there, so I wanna try and win the UAE Tour.”
Stage winner Tadej Pogacar said: “This is like a home race for my team and for me as well since I realized some fans had come from Slovenia to support me here. The dramatic finale makes it an amazing victory. I had to throw my bike on the line to beat [Alexey] Lutsenko. I’m super happy with winning here up Jebel Hafeet.”
