Dubai Tour 2017 – Stage 2 [FULL STAGE]

February 1, 2017

Dubai Tour 2017 – Stage 2 – Dubai – Ras al-Khaimah – 188 km

The Dubai Tour is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Dubai, which began in 2014 as part of the UCI Asia Tour. The race was classified as a 2.1. in 2013.The race is organized by the Dubai Sports Council in partnership with RCS Sport, and was held for the first time between 5 and 8 February 2014. The race is a men’s competition consisting of four stages. The race contains mainly flat stages, with some hillier parts. In 2015, the second edition of the race has been upgraded to 2.HC, meaning that more UCI World Tour teams can compete in the event.
During the race, the leader of the general classification wears a blue jersey, the leader of points classification is denoted by a red jersey and best young rider by white. The race does not award a mountains jersey.

The German came through a congested sprint to beat Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) into second once again, with Jakub Mareczko (Wilier Triestina) in third. Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) was in the hunt for the stage win but found himself boxed in just when he appeared to be moving forward. Kittel’s win extends Quick-Step Floors’ impressive start to the season and the German will wear the leaders jersey on stage 3. He is on course to win the Dubai Tour for the second year running.

Once again Kittel could count in excellent work from his well-drilled team. They kept the break of Mark Christian (Aqua Blue), Simone Andreetta (Bardiani-CSF), Jempy Drucker (BMC), Peter Williams (One Pro Cycling), and Yousif Mirza (UAE Abu Dhabi) in check throughout the day.

The five-man move jumped clear in the opening 20 kilometres of racing and built up a lead of over four minutes on the flat, 188km stretch to Ras al-Khaimah.

Drucker claimed both intermediate sprints before sitting up and allowing the rest of the break to bask in the glory of the Dubai sun, but their efforts were once again in vain. This is a race designed for sprinters and only an extreme miscalculation would upset the odds.

When the four remaining breakaway riders were reeled in with 10 kilometres remaining the lead-out trains moved into gear. This is still very early in the season and the order of the day – for most sprint teams – was to learn from the mistakes made 24 hours earlier. Some teams went too early, full of enthusiasm for a new season but lacking staying power for when it mattered most. Other teams simply lacked cohesion – a difficult skill to master in such a short space of time – but nevertheless the onus fell once again on Kittel’s men and Dimension Data.

The two teams dominated the closing stages but they were not the only protagonists. Trek Segafredo played a more prominent role, confident that John Degenkolb could take on his ex-teammates Kittel and Cavendish.

Lotto NL-Jumbo briefly looked in trouble when they lost ground inside the final 3 kilometres as Bob Jungels once again ratcheted up the pace, while Bardiani CSF, BMC Racing and Wilier Triestina swamped what was already a crowded peloton.

Despite a more determined opposition, Quick-Step once again got their tactics right. They did, however, concede the front to Lotto NL-Jumbo with 1.5km to go and the Dutch squad were well placed as the final lead-out men positioned their sprinters but Kittel, even when there’s still work to be done, is match for anyone on this form.

He started his sprint on the outside, almost level with Cavendish, but in the space of a few pedal strokes the entire nature of the sprint changed. Whereas the road opened up for Kittel, with a smooth passage to the line, Cavendish was left blocked by Groenewegen, who was starting to fade just as Kittel came over the top. The Manxman banged his handlebars in frustration, once again robbed of the chance to really test himself against Kittel. However, the German will have cared little for the Dimension Data rider’s plight.

Although this was a closer affair compared to stage 1, Kittel still looked the best sprinter on the road. His lead-out is supreme but he still has the form to finish off the job. Two from two, he will take some stopping.

Results :
1 Marcel Kittel (Ger) Quick-Step Floors 4:25:33
2 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
3 Jakub Mareczko (Ita) Wilier Triestina
4 John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo
5 Sacha Modolo (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
6 Juan Jose Lobato (Spa) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
7 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data
8 Riccardo Minali (Ita) Astana Pro Team
9 Marco Maronese (Ita) Bardiani CSF
10 Adam Blythe (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport
11 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team
12 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data
13 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
14 Steele Von Hoff (Aus) ONE Pro Cycling
15 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
16 Andrew Fenn (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport
17 Joey Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team
18 Paolo Simion (Ita) Bardiani CSF
19 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
20 Elia Viviani (Ita) Team Sky
21 Carlos Barbero (Spa) Movistar Team
22 Ahmed Almansoori (UAE) UAE
23 Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing Team
24 Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
25 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Movistar Team
26 Floris Gerts (Ned) BMC Racing Team
27 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar Team
28 Quentin Valognes (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
29 Truls Korsaeth (Nor) Astana Pro Team
30 Simone Consonni (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
31 Hayden Mccormick (NZl) ONE Pro Cycling
32 Badr Alhammadi (UAE) UAE
33 Koen De Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
34 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
35 Jaber Almansoori (UAE) UAE
36 Loïc Vliegen (Bel) BMC Racing Team
37 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
38 Arman Kamyshev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
39 Thomas Stewart (GBr) ONE Pro Cycling
40 Mohammed Yousef Al Mansouri (UAE) UAE
41 Maximilian Schachmann (Ger) Quick-Step Floors
42 Chun Kai Feng (Tpe) Bahrain-Merida
43 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors
44 Andrey Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team
45 David Per (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
46 Julien Vermote (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
47 Jan Polanc (Slo) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
48 Enrico Barbin (Ita) Bardiani CSF
49 Silvan Dillier (Swi) BMC Racing Team
50 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky
51 Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani CSF
52 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
53 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data
54 Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida
55 Umberto Poli (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk
56 Simone Velasco (Ita) Bardiani CSF
57 Karol Domagalski (Pol) ONE Pro Cycling
58 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo
59 Jonathan Dibben (GBr) Team Sky
60 Joshua Hunt (GBr) ONE Pro Cycling
61 Borut Bozic (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
62 Yousif Mirza (UAE) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
63 Samuel Sanchez (Spa) BMC Racing Team
64 Christopher Williams (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk
65 Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
66 Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk
67 Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team
68 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky
69 Peter Williams (GBr) ONE Pro Cycling
70 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
71 Rafael Andriato (Bra) Wilier Triestina
72 Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team
73 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek-Segafredo
74 Grega Bole (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
75 Daniel Pearson (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport
76 Cristian Rodriguez (Spa) Wilier Triestina
77 Thomas Leezer (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
78 Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Wilier Triestina
79 Bram Tankink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
80 Markel Irizar (Spa) Trek-Segafredo
81 Winner Anacona (Col) Movistar Team
82 Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF
83 David Lozano (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk
84 Luka Pibernik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
85 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Sky
86 Zhandos Bizhigitov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
87 Dylan Teuns (Bel) BMC Racing Team
88 Kristijan Durasek (Cro) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
89 Michal Golas (Pol) Team Sky
90 Liam Bertazzo (Ita) Wilier Triestina
91 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team
92 Stephen Clancy (Irl) Team Novo Nordisk
93 Stefan Denifl (Aut) Aqua Blue Sport
94 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Movistar Team
95 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data
96 Giuseppe Fonzi (Ita) Wilier Triestina
97 Majed Albloushi (UAE) UAE
98 Simone Andreetta (Ita) Bardiani CSF
99 Mark Christian (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport
100 Matteo Bono (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi 0:00:22
101 Nasser Almemari (UAE) UAE
102 Héctor Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team
103 Amund Grondahl Jansen (Nor) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:00:24
104 Gerd De Keijzer (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk 0:00:30
105 Mohammed Al Maurawwi Alblooshi (UAE) UAE 0:00:31
106 Scott Thwaites (GBr) Dimension Data 0:00:36
107 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
108 Saif Alkaabi (UAE) UAE
109 Matthew Brammeier (Irl) Aqua Blue Sport
110 Davide Martinelli (Ita) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:46
111 Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek-Segafredo
112 Gregory Rast (Swi) Trek-Segafredo
113 Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data
114 Bob Jungels (Lux) Quick-Step Floors
115 Alberto Cecchin (Ita) Wilier Triestina 0:00:50
116 Timo Roosen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
117 Samuel Williams (GBr) ONE Pro Cycling 0:01:06
118 Matteo Busato (Ita) Wilier Triestina 0:01:44
119 Kristian House (GBr) ONE Pro Cycling 0:01:47
120 Michael Gogl (Aut) Trek-Segafredo 0:02:05
121 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:02:15
122 Ian Boswell (USA) Team Sky
123 Nicholas Dougall (RSA) Dimension Data 0:02:19
124 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Dimension Data
DNS Simone Sterbini (Ita) Bardiani CSF

General Classification after stage 2 :
1 Marcel Kittel (Ger) Quick-Step Floors 8:31:46
2 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:00:08
3 Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:00:13
4 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team 0:00:14
5 Thomas Stewart (GBr) One Pro Cycling
6 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data 0:00:16
7 Jakub Mareczko (Ita) Wilier Triestina
8 Yousif Mirza Alhammadi (UAE) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
9 Silvan Dillier (Swi) BMC Racing Team
10 Peter Williams (GBr) One Pro Cycling 0:00:19
11 Simone Andreetta (Ita) Bardiani CSF
12 John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:20
13 Sacha Modolo (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
14 Juan Jose Lobato (Spa) Lotto NL-Jumbo
15 Adam Blythe (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport
16 Riccardo Minali (Ita) Astana Pro Team
17 Steele Von Hoff (Aus) One Pro Cycling
18 Elia Viviani (Ita) Team Sky
19 Andrew Fenn (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport
20 Paolo Simion (Ita) Bardiani CSF
21 Simone Consonni (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
22 Marco Maronese (Ita) Bardiani CSF
23 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Movistar Team
24 Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
25 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar Team
26 Floris Gerts (Ned) BMC Racing Team
27 Koen De Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
28 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
29 Lo•c Vliegen (Bel) BMC Racing Team
30 Carlos Barbero (Spa) Movistar Team
31 Quentin Valognes (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
32 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
33 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
34 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data
35 Arman Kamyshev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
36 Andrey Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team
37 Hayden McCormick (NZl) One Pro Cycling
38 Truls Korsaeth (Nor) Astana Pro Team
39 Joey Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team
40 Jan Polanc (Slo) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
41 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
42 Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
43 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo
44 Jonathan Dibben (GBr) Team Sky
45 Karol Domagalski (Pol) One Pro Cycling
46 Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team
47 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Trek-Segafredo
48 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors
49 Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team
50 Joshua Hunt (GBr) One Pro Cycling
51 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Sky
52 Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing Team
53 Enrico Barbin (Ita) Bardiani CSF
54 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky
55 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky
56 Samuel Sanchez (Spa) BMC Racing Team
57 Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk
58 Bram Tankink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
59 Thomas Leezer (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
60 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
61 Markel Irizar (Spa) Trek-Segafredo
62 Michal Golas (Pol) Team Sky
63 Simone Velasco (Ita) Bardiani CSF
64 David Lozano (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk
65 Umberto Poli (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk
66 Daniel Pearson (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport
67 Cristian Rodriguez (Spa) Wilier Triestina
68 Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Wilier Triestina
69 Dylan Teuns (Bel) BMC Racing Team
70 Rafael Andriato (Bra) Wilier Triestina
71 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team
72 Winner Anacona (Col) Movistar Team
73 Stephen Clancy (Irl) Team Novo Nordisk
74 Grega Bole (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
75 Zhandos Bizhigitov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
76 Stefan Denifl (Aut) Aqua Blue Sport
77 Mark Christian (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport
78 Kristijan Durasek (Cro) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
79 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Movistar Team
80 Giuseppe Fonzi (Ita) Wilier Triestina
81 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) Dimension Data 0:00:35
82 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data 0:00:37
83 Amund Grondahl Jansen (Nor) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:00:44
84 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi 0:00:45
85 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:00:56
86 Matthew Brammeier (Irl) Aqua Blue Sport
87 David Per (Slo) Bahrain-Merida 0:01:00
88 Gregory Rast (Swi) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:06
89 Bob Jungels (Lux) Quick-Step Floors
90 Davide Martinelli (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
91 Timo Roosen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:01:10
92 Maximilian Schachmann (Ger) Quick-Step Floors 0:01:20
93 Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:01:26
94 Jaber Almansoori (UAE) UAE 0:01:29
95 Scott Thwaites (GBr) Dimension Data 0:01:52
96 Christopher Williams (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk 0:01:57
97 Majed Albloushi (UAE) UAE
98 Matteo Busato (Ita) Wilier Triestina 0:02:04
99 Luka Pibernik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida 0:02:18
100 Gerd De Keijzer (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk 0:02:27
101 Gijs Van Hoeck (Bel) Team LottNl-Jumbo 0:02:35
102 Julien Vermote (Bel) Quick-Step Floors 0:03:13
103 HŽctor Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team 0:03:26
104 Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek-Segafredo 0:03:30
105 Chun Kai Feng (Tpe) Bahrain-Merida 0:03:36
106 Mohammed Yousef Al Mansouri (UAE) UAE
107 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
108 Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida
109 Borut Bozic (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
110 Matteo Bono (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi 0:03:57
111 Samuel Williams (GBr) One Pro Cycling 0:04:10
112 Alberto Cecchin (Ita) Wilier Triestina 0:04:26
113 Liam Bertazzo (Ita) Wilier Triestina 0:04:47
114 Michael Gogl (Aut) Trek-Segafredo 0:04:49
115 Kristian House (GBr) One Pro Cycling 0:05:18
116 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Dimension Data 0:05:55
117 Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data 0:05:59
118 Ian Boswell (USA) Team Sky 0:07:02
119 Nick Dougall (RSA) Dimension Data 0:07:32
120 Ahmed Almansoori (UAE) UAE 0:07:59
121 Badr Alhammadi (UAE) UAE
122 Nasser Almemari (UAE) UAE 0:08:21
123 Mohammed Al Maurawwi Alblooshi (UAE) UAE 0:08:30
124 Saif Alkaabi (UAE) UAE 0:08:35