Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) claimed his eighth consecutive time trial victory to remain unbeaten in his specialty for a whole year as he won Stage 2 – Abu Dhabi Sports Council Stage –\u00a0of the\u00a0UAE\u00a0Tour\u00a0ahead of Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-Nippo) and Mikkel Bjerg (UAE\u00a0Team Emirates) on Al Hudayriyat Island. Fourth on the day, Tadej Poga\u010dar (UAE\u00a0Team Emirates) moved into the lead of the General Classification\u00a0with a 5\u2019\u2019 advantage over Jo\u00e3o Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick Step) ahead of tomorrow’s\u00a0summit finish on\u00a0Jebel Hafeet.
\nStage Result
\n1 – Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), 13km in 13\u201956\u201d, average speed 55.981km\/h
\n2 – Stefan Bissegger (EF Education – Nippo) at 14″
\n3 – Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) at 21″
\nJerseys
\nThe Red Jersey, sponsored by ADNOC (General individual classification by time) – Tadej Poga\u010dar (UAE Team Emirates)
\nThe Green Jersey, sponsored by Etisalat (General individual classification by points) – Jo\u00e3o Almeida (Deceuninck – Quick-Step)
\nThe White Jersey, sponsored by Nakheel (Best Young Rider born after 1 January 1996) – Tadej Poga\u010dar (UAE Team Emirates), to be worn by Neilson Powless (EF Education – Nippo)
\nThe Black Jersey, sponsored by Abu Dhabi Aviation (Intermediate Sprint Jersey Classification) – Jo\u00e3o Almeida (Deceuninck – Quick-Step), to be worn by Mattia Cattaneo (Deceuninck – Quick-Step)
\nWhat they said
\nStage winner Filippo Ganna said in the press conference: \u201cI am really happy with this result, achieved in this amazing Rainbow Jersey. Every ITT is a different race, it is never easy. Some people think that because I am the World Champion, ITTs are easy for me, but it’s not like this, every new race is a new test. Today I did a good performance, the next time I\u2019ll be doing one will be at Tirreno-Adriatico. Yesterday we had to stop for ‘physiologic needs’ and then the echelons started. Luckily we had Adam [Yates] in the front, we hope he can claim back the Red Jersey that he won last year. The wind will still play an important role in this race, many things can still change. My focus now is to help Adam [Yates], especially before the climbs begin.\u201d
\nThe Red Jersey Tadej Poga\u010dar said: “I knew before the time trial that my shape is good at the moment and in the end, I did a really good time trial and I\u2019m super happy with the result. Having the leader\u2019s jersey is very good for us. We can go into the upcoming stages with confidence. It was pan-flat today but I actually like that a lot. I train on the flat just as much as on the mountains. Sometimes I prefer the mountains but sometimes I also enjoy riding on the flat, especially in time trials, which is a very nice discipline. I really like to race on the TT bike.
\n“Today, I was more focusing on myself and doing the best time I could than focusing on Joao Almeida\u2019s abilities. It did matter to me though before the start how good he\u2019d do. I knew he\u2019d be good. As for me, I actually didn\u2019t expect anything. I was just riding for myself. I think I\u2019ve just done my best TT – for this short length. It was a really good performance from my perspective.
\n“Five seconds lead over Almeida is not a lot but it is an advantage. I\u2019m in the defending position and he needs to attack. It\u2019s easier to control than to have to make up time. But there are still five stages left and many things can happen. Tomorrow it\u2019s the hardest mountain-top finish. I hope for the best legs I can have.
\nIt is a bit of an advantage to know Jebel Hafeet well from last year and from our training camps over here but up the hill, it\u2019s a matter of power more than knowledge of every meter of the climb. At the top, the best rider wins. I just want to be first at the top.
\nI\u2019m pretty familiar with this country. I always get a warm welcome in the UAE. It\u2019s so nice to come back here. Every time I feel more comfortable. For sure, I will come back here often.”
\nThe Green Jersey Jo\u00e3o Almeida said: “I think I did a good effort today. I can be happy with this. It was short but really hard. I didn\u2019t know what to expect. In the end, it\u2019s about the time gap as well and it is a pretty small gap between me and Tadej Pogacar. We\u2019re still very close to each other. I think I\u2019m in a great position before the queen stage although I’ve never climbed Jebel Hafeet before. I actually don\u2019t know these roads. It\u2019s a bit of a disadvantage but I don\u2019t think it\u2019ll make a big difference. It\u2019s not going to be easy for sure. We have a long day’s riding before we reach the climb as well. Let\u2019s hope for the best”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) claimed his eighth consecutive time trial victory to remain unbeaten in his specialty for a whole year as he won Stage 2 \u2013 Abu Dhabi Sports Council Stage \u2013\u00a0of the\u00a0UAE\u00a0Tour\u00a0ahead of Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-Nippo) and Mikkel Bjerg (UAE\u00a0Team Emirates) on Al Hudayriyat Island. Fourth on the day, Tadej Poga\u010dar (UAE\u00a0Team Emirates) moved into the lead of the General Classification\u00a0with a 5\u2019\u2019 advantage over Jo\u00e3o Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick Step) ahead of tomorrow\u2019s\u00a0summit finish on\u00a0Jebel Hafeet.
\nStage Result
\n1 \u2013 Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), 13km in 13\u201956\u201d, average speed 55.981km\/h
\n2 \u2013 Stefan Bissegger (EF Education \u2013 Nippo) at 14\u2033
\n3 \u2013 Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) at 21\u2033
\nJerseys
\nThe Red Jersey, sponsored by ADNOC (General individual classification by time) \u2013 Tadej Poga\u010dar (UAE Team Emirates)
\nThe Green Jersey, sponsored by Etisalat (General individual classification by points) \u2013 Jo\u00e3o Almeida (Deceuninck \u2013 Quick-Step)
\nThe White Jersey, sponsored by Nakheel (Best Young Rider born after 1 January 1996) \u2013 Tadej Poga\u010dar (UAE Team Emirates), to be worn by Neilson Powless (EF Education \u2013 Nippo)
\nThe Black Jersey, sponsored by Abu Dhabi Aviation (Intermediate Sprint Jersey Classification) \u2013 Jo\u00e3o Almeida (Deceuninck \u2013 Quick-Step), to be worn by Mattia Cattaneo (Deceuninck \u2013 Quick-Step)
\nWhat they said
\nStage winner Filippo Ganna said in the press conference: \u201cI am really happy with this result, achieved in this amazing Rainbow Jersey. Every ITT is a different race, it is never easy. Some people think that because I am the World Champion, ITTs are easy for me, but it\u2019s not like this, every new race is a new test. Today I did a good performance, the next time I\u2019ll be doing one will be at Tirreno-Adriatico. Yesterday we had to stop for \u2018physiologic needs\u2019 and then the echelons started. Luckily we had Adam [Yates] in the front, we hope he can claim back the Red Jersey that he won last year. The wind will still play an important role in this race, many things can still change. My focus now is to help Adam [Yates], especially before the climbs begin.\u201d
\nThe Red Jersey Tadej Poga\u010dar said: \u201cI knew before the time trial that my shape is good at the moment and in the end, I did a really good time trial and I\u2019m super happy with the result. Having the leader\u2019s jersey is very good for us. We can go into the upcoming stages with confidence. It was pan-flat today but I actually like that a lot. I train on the flat just as much as on the mountains. Sometimes I prefer the mountains but sometimes I also enjoy riding on the flat, especially in time trials, which is a very nice discipline. I really like to race on the TT bike.
\n\u201cToday, I was more focusing on myself and doing the best time I could than focusing on Joao Almeida\u2019s abilities. It did matter to me though before the start how good he\u2019d do. I knew he\u2019d be good. As for me, I actually didn\u2019t expect anything. I was just riding for myself. I think I\u2019ve just done my best TT \u2013 for this short length. It was a really good performance from my perspective.
\n\u201cFive seconds lead over Almeida is not a lot but it is an advantage. I\u2019m in the defending position and he needs to attack. It\u2019s easier to control than to have to make up time. But there are still five stages left and many things can happen. Tomorrow it\u2019s the hardest mountain-top finish. I hope for the best legs I can have.
\nIt is a bit of an advantage to know Jebel Hafeet well from last year and from our training camps over here but up the hill, it\u2019s a matter of power more than knowledge of every meter of the climb. At the top, the best rider wins. I just want to be first at the top.
\nI\u2019m pretty familiar with this country. I always get a warm welcome in the UAE. It\u2019s so nice to come back here. Every time I feel more comfortable. For sure, I will come back here often.\u201d
\nThe Green Jersey Jo\u00e3o Almeida said: \u201cI think I did a good effort today. I can be happy with this. It was short but really hard. I didn\u2019t know what to expect. In the end, it\u2019s about the time gap as well and it is a pretty small gap between me and Tadej Pogacar. We\u2019re still very close to each other. I think I\u2019m in a great position before the queen stage although I\u2019ve never climbed Jebel Hafeet before. I actually don\u2019t know these roads. It\u2019s a bit of a disadvantage but I don\u2019t think it\u2019ll make a big difference. It\u2019s not going to be easy for sure. We have a long day\u2019s riding before we reach the climb as well. Let\u2019s hope for the best\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37746"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37746"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37747,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37746\/revisions\/37747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}