Ruote Amatoriali

Tadej Pogačar ha colto un importante successo nella corsa di casa dell’UAE Team Emirates, trionfando nella 5^tappa dell’UAE Tour, 162 km da Al Ain a Jebel Hafeet (162k).

Lo sloveno è stato il primo dei big ad andare all’attacco, producendo a 4,5 km dal traguardo un allungo che ha lasciato solo 6 atleti a guidare la corsa.
Da quel momento si è aperta una battaglia tra i primi quattro ciclisti della classifica generale, con Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) e Pogačar a controllarsi a vicenda.

Pogačar si è poi accodato ad Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) in vista della volata finale, superando il kazako con tempismo vincente in vista della linea del traguardo.

Ottimo piazzamento anche per Davide Formolo, 6° nell’ordine d’arrivo dopo aver svolto un ruolo fondamentale nel costruire i presupposti del successo del compagno di squadra sloveno.
Pogačar è rimasto al secondo posto della graduatoria generale e ha rinforzato il comando della classifica dei giovani.

La 6^tappa proporrà un percorso senza asperità, con partenza da Al Ruwais e arrivo ad Al Mirfa dopo 158 km.

Pogačar: “E’ una vittoria fantastica. Sulla salita ho attaccato cinque volte ma, vedendo che Yates dimostrava di essere davvero forte, ho deciso di attendere la volata ristretta. Ho iniziato lo sprint con buon anticipo, sapendo che l’ultima curva sarebbe stata cruciale: abbiamo affrontato la svolta fianco a fianco, poi non ho mollato fino alla fine e ho lanciato la bici sulla linea del traguardo, cogliendo la vittoria.
Tutta la squadra è stata ancora una volta perfetta.
L’UAE Tour rappresentava il mio primo obiettivo stagionale, quindi vincere qui è davvero speciale per la squadra e per me”.

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.

Data collected by Velon’s devices on the riders’ bikes tell the detailed story of the stage and of the riders. An infographic about today's stage can be downloaded here.

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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.

JERSEYS

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"

Tadej Pogacar 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 Adel Ali Al Fahim, Senior Vice President Business Support Agthia Group

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.”

Ruote Amatoriali