UAE Tour 2021 – Stage 1 [FULL STAGE]

February 21, 2021

UAE Tour 2021 – Stage 1 – Al Dhafra Castle – Al Mirfa : 176 km

The UAE Tour is now in its third year of existence following the merger of the shorter Dubai Tour and Abu Dhabi Tour, and, despite last year’s events, the depth of the field is largely in line with the preceding editions. All 19 WorldTour teams have made the trip to Gulf, together with 2020 Europe Tour winners Alpecin-Fenix.

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) won a frantic, wind-affected, echelon-strewn opening stage of the UAE Tour.

The Dutchman out-spinted David Dekker (Jumbo-Visma) and Michael Mørkøv (Deceuninck-QuickStep) in a small, 23-man group that formed as crosswinds wreaked havoc on the race earlier in the stage.

In the absence of top sprinters Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal), Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe), who had all been distanced earlier in the crosswinds, Van der Poel’s sprint was quick enough to claim his first win of the road season only three weeks after he won the cyclo-cross World Championships.

In the GC battle, João Almeida (Deceuninc-QuickStep), Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) and Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers) emerged as early favourites after all of their major rivals were dumped out of overall contention in the wind.

After eventually sitting up after a desperate chase in the wind, all the chasers, who had been separated into various smaller groups during the day, ultimately finished together in a large group eight and a half minutes down. Chris Froome was also in this group on his debut with Israel Start-Up Nation.

That brought an early end to the GC ambitions of several pre-race favourites, including: Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), Sergio Higuita (EF Education-Nippo), Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma), Wout Poels (Bahrain-Victorious), Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Victorious), and the Ineos Grenadiers duo Ivan Sosa and Daniel Martinez.

“Today was very windy and a very hard race”, explained Van der Poel at the finish, reflecting on a tough return to World Tour racing.

“After the intermediate sprint a big group went away, and I was able to catch them. It was a really hard race…I know that I can finish it off in the sprint, but I didn’t expect it at all. It’s really nice to begin the road season with a win.”

Despite having made the split, Van der Poel was not favourite to win the sprint, with Elia Viviani (Cofidis) and Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) also present in the lead group.

But both those sprinters, who endured such difficult seasons last year, continued to struggle to find their best legs, and Van der Poel was clearly the strongest after a tiring day in the saddle.

“When the race is really hard, my sprint gets better and better,” van der Poel explained.

“I knew that I had to be in a good position and start sprinting when I thought it was the right moment. [His teammate] Gianni Meersman did an amazing job to catch the guy who was away [Deceuninck-QuickStep’s Mattia Cattaneo, who tried a solo attack 6km from the finish], and I’m really happy to begin this way.”

It was a particularly impressive transition back to road racing for Van der Poel.

“ I didn’t really expect this. I took some rest, and then I trained one week with the team, and then I came here. I think this is cyclo-cross shape in the desert!”

How it unfolded

Following the Covid-related cancellation of the Tour Down Under, the 2021 World Tour finally got underway with the opening stage of the third UAE Tour, taking the riders from Al Dhafra Castle to the small village of Al Mirfa on the northern coast.

In terms of terrain, the stage promised to be a relatively straightforward transition back into top level racing, thanks to a pan flat parcours without a single category climb. But, as is often the case in the remote desert landscapes of this country, strong winds on the exposed roads made for a frantic day of racing right from the outset.

Ineos Grenadiers caused the first split in the early crosswinds, catching out multiple overall contenders including Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma), Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Sergio Higuita (EF Education-Nippo). An intense pursuit followed, and the groups eventually came back together following a change in direction.

The action was far from finished, however. After a brief period of downtime when the remaining chasers were able to bridge back up, Deceuninck-QuickStep moved to the front ahead of the day’s first intermediate sprint, 112km from the finish. As well as leading out their GC leader Joao Almeida for three bonus seconds, they caused new splits, with four sizable groups strewn out across the road in picturesque echelon formations.

While the chasing groups behind periodically expanded and split up, as groups joined together and tired riders dropped back, a leading group of 26 remained constant.

This group extended its lead over the main chasing group to around 1:20, and, despite the efforts of teams like Bora-Hansgrohe (working for their sprinter Pascal Ackermann), it remained more or less the same time.

The chase appeared to be lost as the riders reached the finishing circuit. As Almeida outsprinted Pogacar to again take the bonus seconds on the day’s second intermediate sprint at 38km to the finish, the gap to the chasers had suddenly grown to over two minutes, with the riders then throwing in the towel.

That left the leading group (now reduced to 23 after a few tired domestiques had dropped back) to contest the stage, and they maintained a relatively steady pace as the finish approached.

Having been protagonists throughout the day, Deceuninck-QuickStep sought to capitalise on their numerical advantage in the final 10km with a series of attacks.

After a couple of short-lived attempts from Fausto Masnada and then another rider, Mattia Cattaneo opened up a dangerous lead after he made a move 6km from the line.

He got a gap and went deep however he was brought back when Fernando Gaviria decided not to wait for the sprint and jumped out of the group. The Colombian made it up to Cattaneo’s wheel but the pair were subsequently brought back by the group in the final kilometre, setting up a sprint finish.

Viviani opened the sprint after Arcgbol’s lead out but faded as the line approached as Van der Poel, Dekker, Morkov and Emil Liepins (Trek-Segafredo) passed him to finish first, second, third and fourth respectively.

The few riders remaining in overall contention will now fight for every second in Monday’s 13km individual time trial at Al Hudayriat Island before the stage 3 finish on the Jebel Hafeet mountain finish. Van der Poel is likely to keep the leader’s red jersey with Pogacar, Yates and Almeida expected to go on to fight for overall victory during the week.

Results :
1 Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix 3:45:47
2 David Dekker (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
3 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep
4 Emils Liepins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
5 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cofidis
6 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
7 Anthony Roux (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
8 Chris Harper (Aus) Jumbo-Visma 3:45:50
9 João Almeida (Por) Deceuninck-QuickStep
10 Fausto Masnada (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep
11 Shane Archbold (NZl) Deceuninck-QuickStep
12 Adam Yates (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
13 Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) UAE Team Emirates
14 Mattias Jensen (Den) Trek-Segafredo 3:45:53
15 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) UAE Team Emirates
16 Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo
17 Gianni Vermeersch (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
18 Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep 3:46:07
19 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo 3:46:14
20 Ruben Fernandez Andujar (Spa) Cofidis 3:46:25
21 Mikkel Bjerg (Den) UAE Team Emirates 3:46:42
22 Kenneth Vanbilsen (Bel) Cofidis 3:46:49
23 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious 3:45:47
24 Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team Qhubeka Assos 3:54:16
25 Nathan Haas (Aus) Cofidis
26 Rémy Rochas (Fra) Cofidis
27 Rick Zabel (Ger) Israel Start-up Nation
28 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team DSM
29 Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team
30 Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
31 Ben Zwiehoff (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
32 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
33 Harry Tanfield (GBr) Team Qhubeka Assos
34 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team
35 Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
36 Albert Torres Barcelo (Spa) Movistar Team
37 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos
38 Maximilian Walscheid (Ger) Team Qhubeka Assos
39 Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos
40 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos
41 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
42 Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Movistar Team
43 Jack Haig (Aus) Bahrain Victorious
44 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
45 Rafal Majka (Pol) UAE Team Emirates
46 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cofidis
47 Attilio Viviani (Ita) Cofidis
48 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) AG2R Citroën Team
49 Simone Petilli (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
50 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
51 Iñigo Elosegui Momeñe (Spa) Movistar Team
52 Thymen Arensman (Ned) Team DSM
53 Antonio Pedrero (Spa) Movistar Team
54 Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R Citroën Team
55 Davide Formolo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
56 Davide Villella (Ita) Movistar Team
57 James Whelan (Aus) EF Education-Nippo
58 Stefan De Bod (RSA) Astana-Premier Tech
59 Ruben Guerreiro (Por) EF Education-Nippo
60 Louis Meintjes (RSA) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
61 Riccardo Minali (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
62 Rein Taaramäe (Est) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
63 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal
64 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal
65 Jaakko Hänninen (Fin) AG2R Citroën Team
66 Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Team BikeExchange
67 Attila Valter (Hun) Groupama-FDJ
68 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
69 André Greipel (Ger) Israel Start-up Nation
70 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
71 Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal
72 Daniel Martinez Poveda (Col) Ineos Grenadiers
73 Mark Donovan (GBr) Team DSM
74 Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Team BikeExchange
75 Sergio Higuita Garcia (Col) EF Education-Nippo
76 Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Alpecin-Fenix
77 Brandon Rivera Vargas (Col) Ineos Grenadiers
78 Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
79 Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
80 Geoffrey Bouchard (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
81 Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech
82 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
83 François Bidard (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
84 Chris Froome (GBr) Israel Start-up Nation
85 Ben Hermans (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation
86 Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education-Nippo
87 Stefan Bissegger (Swi) EF Education-Nippo
88 Samuele Battistella (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech
89 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain Victorious
90 Omer Goldstein (Isr) Israel Start-up Nation
91 Matteo Badilatti (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
92 William Bonnet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
93 Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
94 Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
95 Wesley Kreder (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
96 Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
97 Matteo Sobrero (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech
98 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team BikeExchange
99 Jonathan Milan (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
100 Roger Kluge (Ger) Lotto Soudal
101 Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
102 Jonas Rickaert (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
103 Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
104 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
105 Andrey Amador (CRc) Ineos Grenadiers
106 Ivan Ramiro Sosa Cuervo (Col) Ineos Grenadiers
107 Jos van Emden (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
108 Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
109 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
110 Florian Stork (Ger) Team DSM
111 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Jumbo-Visma
112 Koen Bouwman (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
113 Asbjørn Kragh Andersen (Den) Team DSM
114 Sepp Kuss (USA) Jumbo-Visma
115 Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma
116 Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Team Qhubeka Assos
117 Roy Jans (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
118 Michael Hepburn (Aus) Team BikeExchange
119 Wout Poels (Ned) Bahrain Victorious
120 Cees Bol (Ned) Team DSM
121 Jan Hirt (Cze) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
122 Fred Wright (GBr) Bahrain Victorious
123 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Israel Start-up Nation
124 Jack Bauer (NZl) Team BikeExchange
125 Gino Mäder (Swi) Bahrain Victorious
126 Luke Rowe (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
127 Sam Bennett (Irl) Deceuninck-QuickStep
128 Larry Warbasse (USA) AG2R Citroën Team
129 Harm Vanhoucke (Bel) Lotto Soudal
130 Alberto Dainese (Ita) Team DSM
131 Kevin Colleoni (Ita) Team BikeExchange
132 Matthias Brändle (Aut) Israel Start-up Nation
133 Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
134 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
135 Martin Laas (Est) Bora-Hansgrohe
136 Harrison Sweeny (Aus) Lotto Soudal
137 Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal
138 Kaden Groves (Aus) Team BikeExchange
139 Alexys Brunel (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 4:01:33

General Classification after Stage 1 :
1 Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix 3:45:37
2 David Dekker (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:04
3 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:06
4 João Almeida (Por) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:07
5 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:08
6 Emils Liepins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:10
7 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cofidis
8 Anthony Roux (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
9 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
10 Chris Harper (Aus) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:13
11 Fausto Masnada (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep
12 Shane Archbold (NZl) Deceuninck-QuickStep
13 Adam Yates (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
14 Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) UAE Team Emirates
15 Mattias Jensen (Den) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:16
16 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) UAE Team Emirates
17 Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo
18 Gianni Vermeersch (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
19 Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:28
20 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:37
21 Ruben Fernandez Andujar (Spa) Cofidis 0:00:48
22 Mikkel Bjerg (Den) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:05
23 Kenneth Vanbilsen (Bel) Cofidis 0:01:12
24 Omer Goldstein (Isr) Israel Start-up Nation 0:08:37
25 Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:08:39
26 Nathan Haas (Aus) Cofidis
27 Rémy Rochas (Fra) Cofidis
28 Rick Zabel (Ger) Israel Start-up Nation
29 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team DSM
30 Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team
31 Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
32 Ben Zwiehoff (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
33 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
34 Harry Tanfield (GBr) Team Qhubeka Assos
35 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team
36 Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
37 Albert Torres Barcelo (Spa) Movistar Team
38 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos
39 Maximilian Walscheid (Ger) Team Qhubeka Assos
40 Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos
41 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos
42 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
43 Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Movistar Team
44 Jack Haig (Aus) Bahrain Victorious
45 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
46 Rafal Majka (Pol) UAE Team Emirates
47 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cofidis
48 Attilio Viviani (Ita) Cofidis
49 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) AG2R Citroën Team
50 Simone Petilli (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
51 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
52 Iñigo Elosegui Momeñe (Spa) Movistar Team
53 Thymen Arensman (Ned) Team DSM
54 Antonio Pedrero (Spa) Movistar Team
55 Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R Citroën Team
56 Davide Formolo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
57 Davide Villella (Ita) Movistar Team
58 James Whelan (Aus) EF Education-Nippo
59 Stefan De Bod (RSA) Astana-Premier Tech
60 Ruben Guerreiro (Por) EF Education-Nippo
61 Louis Meintjes (RSA) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
62 Riccardo Minali (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
63 Rein Taaramäe (Est) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
64 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal
65 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal
66 Jaakko Hänninen (Fin) AG2R Citroën Team
67 Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Team BikeExchange
68 Attila Valter (Hun) Groupama-FDJ
69 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
70 André Greipel (Ger) Israel Start-up Nation
71 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
72 Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal
73 Daniel Martinez Poveda (Col) Ineos Grenadiers
74 Mark Donovan (GBr) Team DSM
75 Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Team BikeExchange
76 Sergio Higuita Garcia (Col) EF Education-Nippo
77 Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Alpecin-Fenix
78 Brandon Rivera Vargas (Col) Ineos Grenadiers
79 Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
80 Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
81 Geoffrey Bouchard (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
82 Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech
83 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
84 François Bidard (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
85 Chris Froome (GBr) Israel Start-up Nation
86 Ben Hermans (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation
87 Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education-Nippo
88 Stefan Bissegger (Swi) EF Education-Nippo
89 Samuele Battistella (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech
90 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain Victorious
91 Matteo Badilatti (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
92 William Bonnet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
93 Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
94 Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
95 Wesley Kreder (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
96 Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
97 Matteo Sobrero (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech
98 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team BikeExchange
99 Jonathan Milan (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
100 Roger Kluge (Ger) Lotto Soudal
101 Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
102 Jonas Rickaert (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
103 Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
104 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
105 Andrey Amador (CRc) Ineos Grenadiers
106 Ivan Ramiro Sosa Cuervo (Col) Ineos Grenadiers
107 Jos van Emden (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
108 Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
109 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
110 Florian Stork (Ger) Team DSM
111 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Jumbo-Visma
112 Koen Bouwman (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
113 Asbjørn Kragh Andersen (Den) Team DSM
114 Sepp Kuss (USA) Jumbo-Visma
115 Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma
116 Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Team Qhubeka Assos
117 Roy Jans (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
118 Michael Hepburn (Aus) Team BikeExchange
119 Wout Poels (Ned) Bahrain Victorious
120 Cees Bol (Ned) Team DSM
121 Jan Hirt (Cze) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
122 Fred Wright (GBr) Bahrain Victorious
123 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Israel Start-up Nation
124 Jack Bauer (NZl) Team BikeExchange
125 Gino Mäder (Swi) Bahrain Victorious
126 Luke Rowe (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
127 Sam Bennett (Irl) Deceuninck-QuickStep
128 Larry Warbasse (USA) AG2R Citroën Team
129 Harm Vanhoucke (Bel) Lotto Soudal
130 Alberto Dainese (Ita) Team DSM
131 Kevin Colleoni (Ita) Team BikeExchange
132 Matthias Brändle (Aut) Israel Start-up Nation
133 Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
134 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
135 Martin Laas (Est) Bora-Hansgrohe
136 Harrison Sweeny (Aus) Lotto Soudal
137 Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal
138 Kaden Groves (Aus) Team BikeExchange
139 Alexys Brunel (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:15:56