UAE Tour 2020 – Stage 3 [LAST 10 KM]

February 25, 2020

UAE Tour 2020 – Stage 3 – Al Qudra Cycle Track – Jebel Hafeet : 184 km

The second edition of the UAE Tour (February 23-29) kicks-off with a world-class field set to compete over the seven-stage race. Top of the bill is Chris Froome (Team Ineos), with the four-time Tour de France winner returning to racing for the first time since his career-threatening crash at last year’s Critérium du Dauphiné.

Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) seized control of the UAE Tour after he soloed to victory on the summit finish at Jebel Hafeet on stage 3. The Briton finished 1:03 clear of pre-race favourite Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) to claim an empathic stage victory and move into the red jersey of race leader.

Yates began his onslaught with six kilometres of the climb remaining, when he jumped away from a reduced leading group with only Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) and David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) for company. He then proceeded to kick clear of his two companions with five kilometres remaining and never faltered thereafter.

The professional peloton has been tackling the climb of Jebel Hafeet since 2015, but the margin of victory on the ascent had never previously exceeded 17 seconds. Yates, however, was in a class of his own on Tuesday, and not even the on-form Pogacar – so dominant at the recent Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana – could match his rhythm on the upper reaches of the climb.

Pogacar didn’t react to Yates’ initial acceleration but the Slovenian ripped clear of the chasing group with five kilometres remaining, bridging across swiftly to Lutsenko and Gaudu. He later rid himself of that duo, but he was unable to even keep pace with Yates in the closing kilometres, far less reduce the deficit. He was 40 seconds behind Yates with three kilometres to go and ultimately crossed the line over a minute down on the British Mitchelton-Scott rider.

“It’s my first race of the season, so it’s difficult to know how everyone’s going. I just really wanted to test my legs and see where I am, so I attacked maybe a little too early, but in the end I felt good,” Yates said after taking possession of the red jersey.

Lutsenko won the sprint for third on the stage ahead of Gaudu and Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe), some 1:30 down on Yates, while the remnants of the group of favourites, including Eddie Dunbar (Ineos), Patrick Konrad (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Wilco Kelderman (Sunweb), crossed the line almost two minutes back.

The damage caused by Yates’ acceleration was considerable. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), twice a winner of Jebel Hafeet, was dropped shortly after the Briton surged clear, and he eventually reached the summit over 2:30 down, and out of the hunt for overall victory.

Yates now holds a lead of 1:07 over Pogacar in the overall standings, while Lutsenko, who recently denied reports that he had been coached by the banned Dr. Michele Ferrari, lies third at 1:35.

Pogacar perhaps rued his decision not to follow Yates from the outset here, but he recognised that the Mitchelton-Scott man was the strongest rider on the climb.

“Maybe I could follow for longer but for sure he would have won because he was stronger. But maybe the gap wouldn’t have been so much,” Pogacar said afterwards.

He will have a chance for revenge on stage 5, which also finishes atop Jebel Hafeet, though, on this evidence, Yates will surely be favoured to carry the red jersey all the way to the finish.

“For sure, I will try but I think he is really in good shape. I will do everything to attack him,” Pogacar said.

How it unfolded

Stage 3 of the UAE Tour was always going to be decided by the 10km final haul up Jebel Hafeet, but that did not discourage a quartet of attackers forging ahead in the opening part of the stage. In temperatures touching 35°C, Jasper De Buyst (Lotto Soudal), Victor Campenaerts (NTT Pro Cycling), Umberto Marengo (Vini Zabù-KTM) and Stijn Steels (Deceuninck-QuickStep) managed to establish a lead of 7 minutes but that buffer gradually melted as the afternoon wore on.

Mitchelton-Scott joined UAE Team Emirates and Trek-Segafredo in setting the tempo at the head of the peloton, and the escapees were duly captured just as the road reared upwards with 10.8km remaining.

There was little surprise when Chris Froome (Team Ineos), in his first race since his heavy crash at the 2019 Critérium du Dauphiné, was among the riders distanced on the lower slopes of the ascent, but the overall rate of attrition in the front group was notably higher than in some previous visits to the climb.

CCC Team’s Jan Hirt set the pace early on for Ilnur Zarkin, before their teammate Victor de la Parte danced clear with 7.5km remaining. Merhawi Kudus (Astana) attempted to bridge across, but neither man gained much of an advantage over the 30 or so riders still in contention at that point.

The complexion of the race changed utterly with six kilometres to go, when Yates unleashed his vicious acceleration.

Lutsenko and Gaudu did well to match his initial pace, while the group behind splintered into shards, but their resistance had its limits. Five kilometres from the top, Yates was alone at the head of the race. Pogacar’s anticipated response followed soon afterwards, but the Briton was not to be denied.

“A minute is a lot, but we have to do this climb again, and maybe my legs won’t be so good then,” Yates said afterwards.

“Also, I heard a rumour there are going to be crosswinds tomorrow, so we’ll see. I’ve got a good group around me and I’ll try and hold onto the lead as long as possible.”

Results :
1 Adam Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 4:42:33
2 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:03
3 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:01:30
4 David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
5 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
6 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:56
7 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
8 Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Astana Pro Team
9 Jesus Herrada (Spa) Cofidis
10 Edward Dunbar (Irl) Team Ineos
11 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb
12 Davide Formolo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:02:02
13 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) NTT Pro Cycling
14 Niklas Eg (Den) Trek-Segafredo 0:02:13
15 Stefan De Bod (RSA) NTT Pro Cycling
16 Victor De la Parte (Spa) CCC Team
17 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) CCC Team
18 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 0:02:38
19 Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
20 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Israel Start-Up Nation
21 Steff Cras (Bel) Lotto Soudal
22 Jaakko Hanninen (Fin) AG2R la Mondiale
23 Merhawi Kudus (Eri) Astana Pro Team 0:02:49
24 Victor Campenaerts (Bel) NTT Pro Cycling 0:03:02
25 François Bidard (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 0:03:19
26 Geoffrey Bouchard (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 0:03:23
27 Bruno Armirail (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:03:29
28 Jose Herrada (Spa) Cofidis
29 Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
30 Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:03:54
31 Quentin Jauregui (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale
32 Pieter Serry (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep
33 Sergei Chernetskii (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
34 Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
35 Hernando Bohorquez Sanchez (Col) Astana Pro Team
36 Natnael Berhane (Eri) Cofidis
37 Wout Poels (Ned) Bahrain McLaren
38 Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) CCC Team
39 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Vini Zabu’ KTM
40 Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team 0:03:58
41 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Bahrain McLaren 0:04:14
42 Jai Hindley (Aus) Team Sunweb 0:04:33
43 Clément Chevrier (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 0:04:43
44 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Bahrain McLaren 0:04:47
45 Nikolai Cherkasov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:04:59
46 Sergio Samitier Samitier (Spa) Movistar Team
47 Florian Stork (Ger) Team Sunweb
48 Rob Power (Aus) Team Sunweb
49 Lawrence Warbasse (USA) AG2R la Mondiale 0:05:51
50 James Mitri (NZl) Vini Zabu’ KTM 0:06:25
51 Andrea Garosio (Ita) Vini Zabu’ KTM
52 Lorenzo Fortunato (Ita) Vini Zabu’ KTM
53 José Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team 0:07:20
54 Nicola Conci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:07:42
55 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Bahrain McLaren
56 Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay (Eth) Mitchelton-Scott
57 Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) Cofidis 0:08:09
58 Jack Bauer (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott 0:08:12
59 Omer Goldstein (Isr) Israel Start-Up Nation
60 Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
61 Carl Fredrik Hagen (Nor) Lotto Soudal
62 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Mitchelton-Scott 0:08:15
63 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) AG2R la Mondiale 0:09:04
64 Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Deceuninck-Quickstep
65 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Groupama-FDJ 0:09:46
66 Alexander Cataford (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:09:55
67 Chris Froome (GBr) Team Ineos 0:10:49
68 Michael Hepburn (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
69 Jesper Hansen (Den) Cofidis
70 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Ineos
71 Danilo Wyss (Swi) NTT Pro Cycling
72 Vladislav Kulikov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
73 Kamil Gradek (Pol) CCC Team
74 Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
75 Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa) Team Ineos
76 Andrey Amador (CRc) Team Ineos
77 Omar Fraile Matarranz (Spa) Astana Pro Team
78 Remy Mertz (Bel) Lotto Soudal
79 Dmitrii Strakhov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
80 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Deceuninck-Quickstep
81 James Knox (GBr) Deceuninck-Quickstep 0:11:22
82 Jan Hirt (Cze) CCC Team 0:11:23
83 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:12:08
84 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Ineos 0:12:10
85 Tony Martin (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma
86 Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:12:28
87 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
88 Rick Zabel (Ger) Israel Start-Up Nation
89 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo
90 Michal Golas (Pol) Team Ineos
91 William Clarke (Aus) Trek-Segafredo
92 Jonas Gregaard Wilsly (Den) Astana Pro Team
93 Marco Haller (Aut) Bahrain McLaren
94 Timo Roosen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
95 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal 0:12:46
96 Max Kanter (Ger) Team Sunweb 0:12:57
97 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:13:10
98 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Movistar Team 0:13:17
99 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:13:47
100 Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal 0:14:14
101 Sam Bennett (Irl) Deceuninck-Quickstep
102 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Groupama-FDJ 0:15:19
103 Francisco Jose Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) CCC Team 0:15:22
104 Iñigo Elosegui Momeñe (Spa) Movistar Team 0:16:54
105 Nathan Haas (Aus) Cofidis
106 Tosh Van der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:17:18
107 Stijn Steels (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep
108 Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal
109 Igor Boev (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
110 Shane Archbold (NZl) Deceuninck-Quickstep 0:17:36
111 Jay Thomson (RSA) NTT Pro Cycling 0:18:57
112 Umberto Marengo (Ita) Vini Zabu’ KTM
113 Leonardo Tortomasi (Ita) Vini Zabu’ KTM
114 Cristian Scaroni (Ita) Gazprom-Rusvelo
115 Jakub Mareczko (Ita) CCC Team
116 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Bahrain McLaren
117 Attilio Viviani (Ita) Cofidis
118 Michael Carbel Svendgaard (Den) NTT Pro Cycling
119 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bahrain McLaren
120 Imerio Cima (Ita) Gazprom-Rusvelo
121 Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) UAE Team Emirates
122 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
123 Albert Torres Barcelo (Spa) Movistar Team
124 Maximiliano Ariel Richeze (Arg) UAE Team Emirates
125 Veljko Stojnic (Srb) Vini Zabu’ KTM
126 Callum Scotson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
127 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Groupama-FDJ
128 Asbjørn Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb 0:19:32
129 Alberto Dainese (Ita) Team Sunweb 0:20:22
130 Kaden Groves (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:20:24
131 Charles Quarterman (GBr) Trek-Segafredo 0:21:06
132 Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:23:38
133 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:24:12
134 Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
135 Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
136 Maximilian Walscheid (Ger) NTT Pro Cycling
137 Matthias Brändle (Aut) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:24:16
138 Rudy Barbier (Fra) Israel Start-Up Nation

General Classification after Stage 3 :
1 Adam Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 12:30:02
2 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:07
3 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:01:35
4 David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:40
5 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
6 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:02:06
7 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
8 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
9 Jesus Herrada (Spa) Cofidis
10 Edward Dunbar (Irl) Team Ineos
11 Davide Formolo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:02:12
12 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) NTT Pro Cycling
13 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) CCC Team 0:02:23
14 Stefan De Bod (RSA) NTT Pro Cycling
15 Niklas Eg (Den) Trek-Segafredo
16 Victor De la Parte (Spa) CCC Team
17 Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:02:48
18 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team
19 Steff Cras (Bel) Lotto Soudal
20 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Israel Start-Up Nation
21 Merhawi Kudus (Eri) Astana Pro Team 0:02:59
22 Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:03:06
23 Geoffrey Bouchard (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 0:03:33
24 Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:03:39
25 Jaakko Hanninen (Fin) AG2R la Mondiale
26 Wout Poels (Ned) Bahrain McLaren 0:04:04
27 Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
28 Sergei Chernetskii (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
29 Quentin Jauregui (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale
30 Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Astana Pro Team
31 Pieter Serry (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep
32 Bruno Armirail (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:04:23
33 Hernando Bohorquez Sanchez (Col) Astana Pro Team 0:04:26
34 Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team 0:04:34
35 Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) CCC Team
36 François Bidard (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 0:04:38
37 Natnael Berhane (Eri) Cofidis 0:04:44
38 Clément Chevrier (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 0:04:53
39 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Vini Zabu’ KTM 0:05:04
40 Nikolai Cherkasov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:05:06
41 Jai Hindley (Aus) Team Sunweb 0:05:07
42 Rob Power (Aus) Team Sunweb 0:05:09
43 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Bahrain McLaren 0:05:33
44 Florian Stork (Ger) Team Sunweb 0:05:39
45 Lawrence Warbasse (USA) AG2R la Mondiale 0:06:01
46 Jose Herrada (Spa) Cofidis 0:06:04
47 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Bahrain McLaren 0:06:06
48 Lorenzo Fortunato (Ita) Vini Zabu’ KTM 0:07:05
49 José Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team 0:07:30
50 Andrea Garosio (Ita) Vini Zabu’ KTM 0:07:31
51 Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay (Eth) Mitchelton-Scott 0:07:52
52 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Mitchelton-Scott 0:08:25
53 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Bahrain McLaren 0:08:36
54 Jack Bauer (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott 0:09:08
55 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) AG2R la Mondiale 0:09:14
56 Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Deceuninck-Quickstep
57 Victor Campenaerts (Bel) NTT Pro Cycling 0:09:21
58 Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) Cofidis 0:09:28
59 Omer Goldstein (Isr) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:09:31
60 Carl Fredrik Hagen (Nor) Lotto Soudal
61 Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 0:10:00
62 Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:10:55
63 Jesper Hansen (Den) Cofidis 0:11:25
64 James Knox (GBr) Deceuninck-Quickstep 0:11:32
65 Sergio Samitier Samitier (Spa) Movistar Team 0:11:41
66 Vladislav Kulikov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:12:08
67 Rick Zabel (Ger) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:12:38
68 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
69 Timo Roosen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
70 Nicola Conci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:12:50
71 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Groupama-FDJ 0:12:52
72 James Mitri (NZl) Vini Zabu’ KTM 0:12:54
73 Andrey Amador (CRc) Team Ineos 0:13:01
74 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Deceuninck-Quickstep 0:13:06
75 Alexander Cataford (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:13:16
76 Omar Fraile Matarranz (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:13:24
77 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:13:48
78 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Ineos 0:13:49
79 Danilo Wyss (Swi) NTT Pro Cycling 0:13:51
80 Michael Hepburn (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:13:55
81 Dmitrii Strakhov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
82 Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:13:59
83 Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal 0:14:04
84 William Clarke (Aus) Trek-Segafredo 0:14:14
85 Sam Bennett (Irl) Deceuninck-Quickstep 0:14:16
86 Max Kanter (Ger) Team Sunweb
87 Jan Hirt (Cze) CCC Team 0:14:29
88 Chris Froome (GBr) Team Ineos 0:14:41
89 Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa) Team Ineos 0:14:43
90 Michal Golas (Pol) Team Ineos 0:15:34
91 Kamil Gradek (Pol) CCC Team 0:15:37
92 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Movistar Team 0:15:52
93 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo 0:15:56
94 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Ineos 0:16:00
95 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:16:10
96 Marco Haller (Aut) Bahrain McLaren 0:16:40
97 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:16:42
98 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal 0:17:11
99 Jonas Gregaard Wilsly (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:17:14
100 Francisco Jose Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) CCC Team 0:18:02
101 Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:18:20
102 Remy Mertz (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:18:29
103 Stijn Steels (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep 0:19:16
104 Tony Martin (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma
105 Tosh Van der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:19:18
106 Iñigo Elosegui Momeñe (Spa) Movistar Team 0:19:29
107 Umberto Marengo (Ita) Vini Zabu’ KTM 0:19:30
108 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Groupama-FDJ 0:19:55
109 Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) UAE Team Emirates 0:20:28
110 Shane Archbold (NZl) Deceuninck-Quickstep 0:20:38
111 Igor Boev (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:20:39
112 Michael Carbel Svendgaard (Den) NTT Pro Cycling 0:20:47
113 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:21:03
114 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bahrain McLaren 0:21:05
115 Kaden Groves (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:21:55
116 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Groupama-FDJ 0:22:54
117 Maximiliano Ariel Richeze (Arg) UAE Team Emirates 0:23:19
118 Attilio Viviani (Ita) Cofidis 0:23:45
119 Nathan Haas (Aus) Cofidis 0:24:19
120 Callum Scotson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:24:52
121 Maximilian Walscheid (Ger) NTT Pro Cycling 0:25:22
122 Jakub Mareczko (Ita) CCC Team 0:25:31
123 Matthias Brändle (Aut) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:25:35
124 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Bahrain McLaren 0:26:08
125 Jay Thomson (RSA) NTT Pro Cycling 0:26:10
126 Leonardo Tortomasi (Ita) Vini Zabu’ KTM 0:26:14
127 Imerio Cima (Ita) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:26:22
128 Veljko Stojnic (Srb) Vini Zabu’ KTM 0:26:32
129 Albert Torres Barcelo (Spa) Movistar Team 0:26:43
130 Asbjørn Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb 0:27:05
131 Alberto Dainese (Ita) Team Sunweb 0:28:00
132 Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:28:01
133 Cristian Scaroni (Ita) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:28:14
134 Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:28:23
135 Charles Quarterman (GBr) Trek-Segafredo 0:28:36
136 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:31:42
137 Rudy Barbier (Fra) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:31:58
138 Rüdiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe