the Belgian Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick Step), national road champion, manages to wear the UAE Tour leader’s jersey for the first time by prevailing after a detailed study of the picture of the arrival of the first stage disputed between Al Dhafra Castle and Al Mirfa, which is 151 km.
A very close sprint between Merlier and the Australian Caleb Ewan (Lotto Dstny), who they have to wait more than 10 minutes until the picture arrives decided to award the victory to the Belgian champion, by a very important difference.
Finally a smile appeared on Merlier’s face. (Wortegem Petegem, 30 years old), who completed the work of his team leader and World Champion Remco Evenepoel. A special achievement, as the wearer of the jersey with the flag of his country signed his professional victory number 25.
Bitter second place for Ewan. “Pocket Rocket” has already celebrated victory, but the high-precision camera has chosen its rival. final resignation. Third place went to British Mark Cavendish and ninth to Spanish Pello Bilbao (Bahrain), among the group of 12 riders who escaped the finish line, including Evenepoel, the great hero of the stage.
The main peloton reached 51 seconds behind the winning group, with Evenepoel and Pello Bilbao taking positions for the general classification, with an initial advantage that would allow them to play for the final victory in 2 mountain stage of this edition of the Tour of the UAE .
THE PROTAGONIST AIR
The first day there was no hint of a transfer label. The wind brought many illusions for the stage and for the general. The fans soon broke up the peloton. Some sprinters, such as the Colombian Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) were cut in the second group, which was condemned to continue.
Just when it looked like the leading group would allow the merger, a new blow from Evenepoel and his Soudal Quick Step team changed the stage again, now definitely. A front group formed with 12 men, including the world champion, Pello Bilbao, Merlier, Cavendish, Ewan… too much interest and too much quality to miss the opportunity.
Bahrain from Bilbao has the absolute majority in the group with 5 men, but Soudal is well equipped in the sprint. In between, Cavendish and Ewan wait. The rainbow jersey tried to surprise 2.5 km from the finish line, but Bilbao stuck to the wheel.
The sprint was called. Van Lenberghe launched the arrival from far away from the Merlier area, which grabbed the teammate’s wheel. Ewan worked hard, taking the lead a few meters from the finish line. Both came equally. And he decided on the picture, which brought out the most beautiful smile in Merlier. 25 wins for the Belgian champions –
Merlier will defend the yellow jersey on Tuesday with a 4 second advantage over Ewan in the second stage which will be held in team time trial modality with start and finish line at Khalifa Port and 17.3 km route.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
