UAE Tour 2021 – Stage 4 [FULL STAGE]

February 24, 2021

UAE Tour 2021 – Stage 4 – Al Marjan Island – Al Marjan Island : 204 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.

Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-QuickStep) came out on top in a thrilling sprint to win stage 4 of the UAE Tour. The Irishman, who missed out on a stage last year, was perfectly led out by his team in a chaotic finale and squeezed through on the inside to win ahead of David Dekker (Jumbo Visma) and Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal).

Pascal Ackermann hit the front early but faded in the final 75m meters and was forced to settle for a place in the top ten.

In the race for the overall, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) retained his overall lead over Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers).

Bennett’s turn of speed was decisive, but he owed much of his win to teammate Michael Mørkøv. The Dane was one of the few leadout men still in the frame with around 500m to go and he closed an initial gap to Cees Bol (Team DSM) on the right hand side before Bennett made use of the draft and cut through on the opposite side of the road.

His trajectory gave him the shortest distance to the line, while Ewan, despite a fast finish, took a longer route, and never looked like closing the gap on his sprint rival.

For Bennett, the win represented his first victory of the season. As for Dekker, the results represented his best ride in the WorldTour. The young Dutchman picked up intermediate sprint points throughout the day and was unfortunate to be caught behind Bennett’s change of direction in the final 200m. The Jumbo Visma rider cut a frustrated figure at the line but already looks comfortable at this level.

“It’s really good to have won because I had to wait a few day to get the opportunity,” Bennett said at the finish.

“I was really nervous before the sprint. It was my first bunch sprint of the season. Fortunately, I only had to follow the guys. They did as fantastic job, each one of them. It’s great to finish it off today. This is my 50th pro win, it’s really nice to get that first win of the season. I could see they were going to the right and the right was the shortest line, but I couldn’t risk going up and having to hit the brakes, so I had to go the longest way around. Fortunately, I could carry enough speed.”

In the battle for the minor places, Elia Viviani (Cofidis) showed signs that he is coming back to form with fourth place, while Matteo Moschetti (Trek Segafredo) rounded out the top five.

Ackermann, Phil Bauhaus, Giacomo Nizzolo, Fernando Gaviria and Kaden Groves all had supportive lead-out trains but were forced to settle for places inside the top ten.

How it unfolded

After the excitement of crosswinds, a time trial and a summit finish, it was time for the UAE Tour to revert to type and provide a more typical sort of desert racing. That meant long stretches of flat roads with little in the way of action as the race transitioned between barren scenery of the dusty desert and the wealth of the Gulf and the country’s stunning status-based architecture.

Stage 4 was the longest of the race covering 204km and young Dekker picked up the first intermediate sprint of the day. There was a brief glimpse of life from the main field when Ineos, Deceuninck-QuickStep and Bora-Hansgrohe sensed an opportunity to split the peloton in the crosswinds as gusts gathered pace from the left. The action was short-lived, however, as the direction of the race changed and the peloton gently eased back on the throttle.

With little else to report, Francois Bidard (AG2R Citroën) and Olivier le Gac (Groupama-FDJ) proved cameos of token heroism by breaking away inside the final 90km and establishing a two-minute lead, but their efforts were cut short inside 28km to go as the bunch finally stirred from their slumber.

The GC contenders keenly followed their trains along the wide and expansive roads but as the sprinters’ teams began to collectively organize their efforts the pace began to build.

Inside the final 10km, Astana and Bahrain tried to enforce some control but it was the home team UAE Team Emirates who hit the front with 4.5km to go and truly put the hammer down as they looked to both protect Pogacar and position Gaviria. The pinch point, however, came with 2.7km to when the race navigated a huge roundabout. Teams used the road furniture to slingshot riders to the front and as they peloton exited the final corner Roger Klugge found himself on the front and looking around as he tried to find Ewan.

With 2km to go Bennett’s lead-out began to make their move – they are possibly the best in the world when it comes to timing – and while Israel Start-Up Nation gave us a quick glimpse of Andre Greipel in third wheel, it wasn’t long before Bora-Hansgrohe and Team DSM opened proceedings. Bennett used patience and cunning to wait for his opening and when it came the result was never in doubt.

Results :
1 Sam Bennett (Irl) Deceuninck-QuickStep 4:51:51
2 David Dekker (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
3 Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal
4 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cofidis
5 Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
6 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
7 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain Victorious
8 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos
9 Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) UAE Team Emirates
10 Kaden Groves (Aus) Team BikeExchange
11 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) AG2R Citroën Team
12 André Greipel (Ger) Israel Start-up Nation
13 Riccardo Minali (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
14 Chris Harper (Aus) Jumbo-Visma
15 Cees Bol (Ned) Team DSM
16 Jack Bauer (NZl) Team BikeExchange
17 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep
18 Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
19 Mikkel Bjerg (Den) UAE Team Emirates
20 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
21 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Jumbo-Visma
22 Chris Froome (GBr) Israel Start-up Nation
23 Anthony Roux (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
24 João Almeida (Por) Deceuninck-QuickStep
25 Omer Goldstein (Isr) Israel Start-up Nation
26 Stefan Bissegger (Swi) EF Education-Nippo
27 Andrey Amador (CRc) Ineos Grenadiers
28 Adam Yates (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
29 Stefan De Bod (RSA) Astana-Premier Tech
30 Rick Zabel (Ger) Israel Start-up Nation
31 Ruben Guerreiro (Por) EF Education-Nippo
32 Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education-Nippo
33 Martin Laas (Est) Bora-Hansgrohe
34 Ruben Fernandez Andujar (Spa) Cofidis
35 Emils Liepins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
36 Sepp Kuss (USA) Jumbo-Visma
37 Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo
38 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
39 Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech
40 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) UAE Team Emirates
41 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
42 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cofidis
43 Simone Petilli (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
44 Davide Villella (Ita) Movistar Team
45 Mattias Jensen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
46 Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Team BikeExchange
47 Larry Warbasse (USA) AG2R Citroën Team
48 Harm Vanhoucke (Bel) Lotto Soudal
49 Davide Formolo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
50 Florian Stork (Ger) Team DSM
51 Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Team BikeExchange
52 Louis Meintjes (RSA) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
53 Fausto Masnada (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep
54 Matteo Sobrero (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech
55 Samuele Battistella (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech
56 Ben Hermans (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation
57 Geoffrey Bouchard (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
58 Rémy Rochas (Fra) Cofidis
59 Sergio Higuita Garcia (Col) EF Education-Nippo
60 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
61 Rein Taaramäe (Est) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
62 Thymen Arensman (Ned) Team DSM
63 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal
64 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team DSM
65 Ben Zwiehoff (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
66 Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R Citroën Team
67 Ivan Ramiro Sosa Cuervo (Col) Ineos Grenadiers
68 Jaakko Hänninen (Fin) AG2R Citroën Team
69 François Bidard (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
70 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team
71 Iñigo Elosegui Momeñe (Spa) Movistar Team
72 Brandon Rivera Vargas (Col) Ineos Grenadiers
73 Rafal Majka (Pol) UAE Team Emirates
74 Attila Valter (Hun) Groupama-FDJ
75 James Whelan (Aus) EF Education-Nippo
76 Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
77 Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
78 Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
79 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos
80 Koen Bouwman (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
81 Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep
82 Matthias Brändle (Aut) Israel Start-up Nation
83 Kevin Colleoni (Ita) Team BikeExchange
84 Gino Mäder (Swi) Bahrain Victorious
85 Harrison Sweeny (Aus) Lotto Soudal
86 Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team
87 Albert Torres Barcelo (Spa) Movistar Team
88 Wesley Kreder (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
89 Mark Donovan (GBr) Team DSM
90 Maximilian Walscheid (Ger) Team Qhubeka Assos
91 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team BikeExchange
92 Shane Archbold (NZl) Deceuninck-QuickStep
93 Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Movistar Team
94 Alberto Dainese (Ita) Team DSM
95 Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
96 Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
97 Luke Rowe (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
98 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
99 Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal
100 Daniel Martinez Poveda (Col) Ineos Grenadiers
101 Antonio Pedrero (Spa) Movistar Team
102 Jonathan Milan (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
103 Fred Wright (GBr) Bahrain Victorious
104 Kenneth Vanbilsen (Bel) Cofidis
105 Matteo Badilatti (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
106 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
107 Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma
108 Jan Hirt (Cze) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
109 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
110 Wout Poels (Ned) Bahrain Victorious
111 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal
112 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Israel Start-up Nation
113 Jack Haig (Aus) Bahrain Victorious
114 Alexys Brunel (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
115 Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos
116 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
117 Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
118 Asbjørn Kragh Andersen (Den) Team DSM 0:00:27
119 William Bonnet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:39
120 Attilio Viviani (Ita) Cofidis
121 Michael Hepburn (Aus) Team BikeExchange 0:00:45
122 Nathan Haas (Aus) Cofidis 0:00:54
123 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo
124 Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:01:11
125 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech 0:01:36
126 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:02:08
127 Roger Kluge (Ger) Lotto Soudal
128 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
129 Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:03:57
130 Harry Tanfield (GBr) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:04:15

General Classification after Stage 4 :
1 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 12:50:21
2 Adam Yates (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 0:00:43
3 João Almeida (Por) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:01:03
4 Chris Harper (Aus) Jumbo-Visma 0:01:43
5 Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo 0:01:45
6 Mattias Jensen (Den) Trek-Segafredo 0:02:36
7 Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:02:38
8 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
9 Ruben Fernandez Andujar (Spa) Cofidis 0:03:32
10 Fausto Masnada (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:04:47
11 Anthony Roux (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:08:10
12 Sergio Higuita Garcia (Col) EF Education-Nippo 0:09:49
13 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:09:58
14 Harm Vanhoucke (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:10:10
15 Florian Stork (Ger) Team DSM 0:10:21
16 Ben Hermans (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation 0:10:36
17 Davide Formolo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:10:38
18 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:10:42
19 Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Team BikeExchange 0:10:46
20 Geoffrey Bouchard (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team 0:10:51
21 Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech 0:10:58
22 Sepp Kuss (USA) Jumbo-Visma 0:11:06
23 Louis Meintjes (RSA) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:11:17
24 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:11:20
25 Wout Poels (Ned) Bahrain Victorious 0:11:26
26 Rafal Majka (Pol) UAE Team Emirates 0:11:40
27 Jack Haig (Aus) Bahrain Victorious 0:11:45
28 Ben Zwiehoff (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:12:11
29 Ruben Guerreiro (Por) EF Education-Nippo 0:12:14
30 Stefan De Bod (RSA) Astana-Premier Tech 0:12:19
31 Rein Taaramäe (Est) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:12:21
32 Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R Citroën Team 0:12:22
33 Jan Hirt (Cze) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:12:37
34 Mikkel Bjerg (Den) UAE Team Emirates 0:12:40
35 Samuele Battistella (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech 0:12:47
36 Gino Mäder (Swi) Bahrain Victorious 0:13:06
37 Daniel Martinez Poveda (Col) Ineos Grenadiers 0:13:11
38 Rémy Rochas (Fra) Cofidis 0:13:47
39 Davide Villella (Ita) Movistar Team 0:13:53
40 Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Team BikeExchange 0:14:00
41 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 0:14:06
42 Koen Bouwman (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:14:16
43 Chris Froome (GBr) Israel Start-up Nation 0:14:53
44 Larry Warbasse (USA) AG2R Citroën Team 0:14:59
45 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:15:00
46 Mark Donovan (GBr) Team DSM 0:15:23
47 Simone Petilli (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:15:33
48 Omer Goldstein (Isr) Israel Start-up Nation 0:15:34
49 Jaakko Hänninen (Fin) AG2R Citroën Team 0:15:46
50 Thymen Arensman (Ned) Team DSM 0:16:20
51 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:16:22
52 David Dekker (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:16:51
53 Brandon Rivera Vargas (Col) Ineos Grenadiers 0:16:55
54 Attila Valter (Hun) Groupama-FDJ 0:17:01
55 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 0:17:02
56 Nathan Haas (Aus) Cofidis 0:17:14
57 Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:17:17
58 Shane Archbold (NZl) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:17:19
59 Matteo Badilatti (Swi) Groupama-FDJ 0:17:33
60 Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) UAE Team Emirates 0:17:41
61 Ivan Ramiro Sosa Cuervo (Col) Ineos Grenadiers 0:17:46
62 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cofidis 0:17:56
63 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) UAE Team Emirates 0:18:00
64 Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma 0:18:07
65 Antonio Pedrero (Spa) Movistar Team 0:18:22
66 François Bidard (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team 0:18:28
67 Matteo Sobrero (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech 0:18:37
68 Kenneth Vanbilsen (Bel) Cofidis 0:18:54
69 James Whelan (Aus) EF Education-Nippo 0:19:00
70 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo 0:19:18
71 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) AG2R Citroën Team 0:19:37
72 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team DSM 0:19:41
73 Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education-Nippo 0:20:32
74 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:20:48
75 Harrison Sweeny (Aus) Lotto Soudal 0:20:51
76 Emils Liepins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo 0:20:53
77 Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Jumbo-Visma 0:21:07
78 Wesley Kreder (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:21:10
79 Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech 0:22:16
80 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech 0:22:42
81 Jack Bauer (NZl) Team BikeExchange 0:23:21
82 Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team 0:23:22
83 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:23:40
84 Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:24:09
85 Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers 0:24:22
86 Stefan Bissegger (Swi) EF Education-Nippo 0:24:36
87 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:24:49
88 Maximilian Walscheid (Ger) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:24:54
89 Matthias Brändle (Aut) Israel Start-up Nation 0:25:00
90 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Israel Start-up Nation 0:25:15
91 Albert Torres Barcelo (Spa) Movistar Team 0:25:23
92 Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:25:28
93 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:25:33
94 Rick Zabel (Ger) Israel Start-up Nation 0:25:39
95 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech 0:25:40
96 Alberto Dainese (Ita) Team DSM 0:25:45
97 Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Movistar Team 0:25:48
98 Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team
99 Kevin Colleoni (Ita) Team BikeExchange 0:25:55
100 Sam Bennett (Irl) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:25:56
101 Michael Hepburn (Aus) Team BikeExchange 0:25:58
102 Iñigo Elosegui Momeñe (Spa) Movistar Team 0:25:59
103 André Greipel (Ger) Israel Start-up Nation 0:26:00
104 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team BikeExchange 0:26:02
105 Andrey Amador (CRc) Ineos Grenadiers 0:26:09
106 Asbjørn Kragh Andersen (Den) Team DSM 0:26:10
107 Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:26:12
108 Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo 0:26:22
109 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cofidis 0:26:24
110 Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal 0:26:26
111 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:26:29
112 Luke Rowe (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 0:26:34
113 William Bonnet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:26:35
114 Riccardo Minali (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:26:40
115 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:26:48
116 Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:27:00
117 Kaden Groves (Aus) Team BikeExchange 0:27:38
118 Attilio Viviani (Ita) Cofidis 0:27:46
119 Roger Kluge (Ger) Lotto Soudal 0:28:10
120 Fred Wright (GBr) Bahrain Victorious 0:28:41
121 Jonathan Milan (Ita) Bahrain Victorious 0:28:47
122 Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:29:09
123 Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:29:25
124 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:29:31
125 Cees Bol (Ned) Team DSM 0:29:38
126 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain Victorious 0:29:49
127 Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:30:00
128 Martin Laas (Est) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:30:54
129 Alexys Brunel (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:32:27
130 Harry Tanfield (GBr) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:33:42