Mathieu van der Poel warned that he\u2019d be racing the\u00a0UAE\u00a0Tour\u00a0in support of his\u00a0Alpecin-Fenix teammates but he found himself at ease in the echelons on Stage 1, – the ADNOC Stage – a day that was marked by an unexpected scenario.
\nAmong\u00a0the pre-race GC favorites, Adam Yates, Tadej Poga\u010dar and Jo\u00e3o Almeida made the decisive 23-man front group, the latter taking six seconds of time bonuses by winning the two intermediate sprints during the stage.
\nTop sprinters Elia Viviani and Fernando Gaviria were also up at the front\u00a0but Van der Poel was the strongest at the finish despite recently switching (with no respite)\u00a0from the cyclo-cross world championship to WorldTour road racing, both events being held in a sandy environment with a\u00a0beach-side finish however.
\nSTAGE RESULT
\n1 – Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix), 176km in 3h45\u201947\u201d, average speed 46.770km\/h
\n2 – David Dekker (Jumbo-Visma) s.t.
\n3 – Michael M\u00f8rk\u00f8v (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) s.t.
\nJERSEYS<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Red Jersey, sponsored by ADNOC (General individual classification by time) – Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix)
\nThe\u00a0Green Jersey, sponsored by Etisalat (General individual classification by points) – Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix), to be worn by\u00a0Michael M\u00f8rk\u00f8v (Deceuninck – Quick-Step)
\nThe\u00a0White Jersey, sponsored by Nakheel (Best Young Rider born after 1 January 1996) – David Dekker (Jumbo-Visma)
\nThe\u00a0Black Jersey, sponsored by Abu Dhabi Aviation (Intermediate Sprint Jersey Classification) – Jo\u00e3o Almeida (Deceuninck – Quick-Step)<\/p>\n
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
\n1 – Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix)
\n2 – David Dekker (Jumbo-Visma) at 4″
\n3 – Michael M\u00f8rk\u00f8v (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) at 6″
\n4 – Jo\u00e3o Almeida (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) at 7″
\n5 –\u00a0Tadej Poga\u010dar (UAE\u00a0Team Emirates)\u00a0at 8″
\nWhat they said:
\nStage winner and first Red Jersey wearer of the race Mathieu van der Poel said in the press conference: \u201cIt was really unexpected to be honest but it was windy from the beginning onwards. I was immediately in the first echelon and I felt good. But then, with the head wind, we regrouped with the peloton and the bunch split again after the intermediate sprint. I was able to catch the first group and it was very hard racing until the finish line. It was good to have teammates in the front group, especially Gianni [Vermeersch) who helped me a lot at the end because Roy was dropped a little bit before. Gianni did an amazing job again covering moves in the finale.
\n“I still felt really good for the sprint. I knew I just had to start sprinting when I thought it was the right moment to go. The hard racing was good for me for the sprint. Normally there were a few guys faster than me but the heat made it a very hard race as well. That gave me confidence that I could go for the sprint, which wasn\u2019t the plan before. I didn\u2019t expect such a stage and such a result at all. I had a rest after the cyclo-cross world championship and I started training with the team one week before coming to the UAE. So I think it’s my cyclo-cross form that’s made me a winner today.\u201d
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mathieu van der Poel warned that he\u2019d be racing the\u00a0UAE\u00a0Tour\u00a0in support of his\u00a0Alpecin-Fenix teammates but he found himself at ease in the echelons on Stage 1, \u2013 the ADNOC Stage \u2013 a day that was marked by an unexpected scenario.
\nAmong\u00a0the pre-race GC favorites, Adam Yates, Tadej Poga\u010dar and Jo\u00e3o Almeida made the decisive 23-man front group, the latter taking six seconds of time bonuses by winning the two intermediate sprints during the stage.
\nTop sprinters Elia Viviani and Fernando Gaviria were also up at the front\u00a0but Van der Poel was the strongest at the finish despite recently switching (with no respite)\u00a0from the cyclo-cross world championship to WorldTour road racing, both events being held in a sandy environment with a\u00a0beach-side finish however.
\nSTAGE RESULT
\n1 \u2013 Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix), 176km in 3h45\u201947\u201d, average speed 46.770km\/h
\n2 \u2013 David Dekker (Jumbo-Visma) s.t.
\n3 \u2013 Michael M\u00f8rk\u00f8v (Deceuninck \u2013 Quick-Step) s.t.
\nJERSEYS<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Red Jersey, sponsored by ADNOC (General individual classification by time) \u2013 Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix)
\nThe\u00a0Green Jersey, sponsored by Etisalat (General individual classification by points) \u2013 Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix), to be worn by\u00a0Michael M\u00f8rk\u00f8v (Deceuninck \u2013 Quick-Step)
\nThe\u00a0White Jersey, sponsored by Nakheel (Best Young Rider born after 1 January 1996) \u2013 David Dekker (Jumbo-Visma)
\nThe\u00a0Black Jersey, sponsored by Abu Dhabi Aviation (Intermediate Sprint Jersey Classification) \u2013 Jo\u00e3o Almeida (Deceuninck \u2013 Quick-Step)<\/p>\n
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
\n1 \u2013 Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix)
\n2 \u2013 David Dekker (Jumbo-Visma) at 4\u2033
\n3 \u2013 Michael M\u00f8rk\u00f8v (Deceuninck \u2013 Quick-Step) at 6\u2033
\n4 \u2013 Jo\u00e3o Almeida (Deceuninck \u2013 Quick-Step) at 7\u2033
\n5 \u2013\u00a0Tadej Poga\u010dar (UAE\u00a0Team Emirates)\u00a0at 8\u2033
\nWhat they said:
\nStage winner and first Red Jersey wearer of the race Mathieu van der Poel said in the press conference: \u201cIt was really unexpected to be honest but it was windy from the beginning onwards. I was immediately in the first echelon and I felt good. But then, with the head wind, we regrouped with the peloton and the bunch split again after the intermediate sprint. I was able to catch the first group and it was very hard racing until the finish line. It was good to have teammates in the front group, especially Gianni [Vermeersch) who helped me a lot at the end because Roy was dropped a little bit before. Gianni did an amazing job again covering moves in the finale.
\n\u201cI still felt really good for the sprint. I knew I just had to start sprinting when I thought it was the right moment to go. The hard racing was good for me for the sprint. Normally there were a few guys faster than me but the heat made it a very hard race as well. That gave me confidence that I could go for the sprint, which wasn\u2019t the plan before. I didn\u2019t expect such a stage and such a result at all. I had a rest after the cyclo-cross world championship and I started training with the team one week before coming to the UAE. So I think it\u2019s my cyclo-cross form that\u2019s made me a winner today.\u201d
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