UAE Tour 2019

Automatically all 18 teams of the world tour received invitations to the race. The organizers also invited 2 pro-continental teams. Each team could consist of no more than 7 cyclists. At the start of the competition went all 133 riders.

The race route consisted of 7 stages in the direction from Abu Dhabi to Dubai along the territories of all seven emirates.

Stage 1

From the team time trial , a multi-day race began on the roads of the United Arab Emirates . Of the first teams to go the distance, EF Education First showed the best result, it covered the distance of 16 kilometers in 17.15 minutes.

Long lead EF Education First was not destined. Soon, the first of the favorite teams, Bahrain – Merida , went on the distance, and the current world champion Roan Dennis is in the lineup. The team from Bahrain especially succeeded in the second half of the distance, at the finish Dennis and his team showed a result of 16.58.

The Dutch Jumbo-Visma managed to improve the Bahrain – Merida time, its final result was 16.49 minutes (average speed 57.0 km / h).

Team Sunweb was ahead of Jumbo-Visma in the intermediate cutoff, but the finish piece was difficult for Tom Dumulen and his partners. As a result, the German squad showed a result of 16.56 and was in second place, ahead of Bahrain – Merida by two seconds. Team Sky (17.03) and Movistar Team (17.07) took fourth and fifth places in the first stage.

The first of the Jumbo-Visma riders crossed the finish line Primoz Roglich , he became the first leader of the general classification.

Stage 2

Immediately after the start of the 186-kilometer lowland stage, four drivers representing two pro-continental teams left - Igor Boyev , Stepan Kuryanov ( Gazprom-RusVelo ), Sam Brand and Charles Plane ( Team Novo Nordisk ). The maximum lead of the leading group reached 12 minutes, however, it rapidly began to decline when the participants of the race were in a section with a crosswind. It was finally closed for 75 kilometers to the finish line.

The pace of the race fell, this allowed Stepan Kuryanov and Charles Plan to break away from the peloton for the second time in a day. Very quickly, the advantage of the two leaders reached five and a half minutes, that is how much they won against the main group 55 kilometers before the completion of the stage. The gap between the two leaders and the peloton began to close rapidly when Bora – Hansgrohe got involved, it was 21 kilometers before the end of the stage in Abu Dhabi. Kuryanov and Plan were finally neutralized another 14 kilometers to the finish line.

About a kilometer before the finish line Bahrain – Merida , Team Sunweb and Groupama-FDJ held in the head of the peloton, but at the last moment the UAE Team Emirates took control of the situation. Alexander Kristoff coolly delivered Fernando Gaviria , and the Colombian Elia Viviani ( Deceuninck-Quick Step ), who was on the wheel, did not manage to get around him.

Stage 3

The 179-kilometer stage with a finish on Mount Jabal-Hafit began with the formation of a gap in which there were four riders - Igor Boyev , Stepan Kuryanov ( Gazprom-RusVelo ), Fabio Calabria and Charles Plane ( Team Novo Nordisk ). Stepan Curiano and Charles Planet continued the struggle for leadership in the classification of intermediate finishes. The maximum gap reached 4:30 and already 80 kilometers before the finish, the peloton rolled over the leaders. In the future, the pace of the race fell, in the first positions were mainly representatives of Jumbo-Visma , who defended the position of Primos Roglich .

Speeds began to increase dramatically for 25 kilometers to the finish line, when the race began to approach the foot of the decisive climb. Almost all the teams that take part in the multi-day trip managed to visit the head of the peloton for 15 kilometers. Patrick Bevin ( CCC Team ) and Diego Ulissi ( UAE Team Emirates ) were the first to attack Jabal Hafit , gaining a 15-second lead. Seven kilometers to the summit, Robert Power joined them ( Team Sunweb ). Six kilometers before the finish, the main group neutralized the first three, by this time there were still about 25 riders in it.

Decisive events began to develop four kilometers before the finish, when the leader of the overall standings Primoz Roglich decided to accelerate. David Godu ( Groupama-FDJ ) immediately went with him, and a little later Dan Martin ( UAE Team Emirates ) and Emanuel Buchmann ( Bora – Hansgrohe ) rolled them . Soon Roglich attacked again, but he again failed to reset the Year, Buchmann at the cost of titanic efforts joined them a second time. Behind them, Alejandro Valverde ( Movistar Team ) suddenly activated. First, the world champion broke away from the pursuit group, and then he got Dan Martin, who was left alone. Valverde sat for a short time on Martin’s wheel, and on the last two kilometers he accelerated again and took out the three Roglich-Godu-Buchmann. The Spanish veteran won the sprint at a gentle finish, although Roglich lost to him relatively little.

Stage 4

At the start of the 197 km stage, a gap was formed in which there were six riders: Igor Boev , Artem Nych , Stepan Kuryanov ( Gazprom-RusVelo ), Alessandro De Marki ( CCC Team ), Charles Plane ( Team Novo Nordisk ) and William Clark ( Trek -Segafredo ). Kuryanov and his teammates continued to fight the Plan in two classifications. The fugitives reached a maximum gap of eight minutes; representatives of the Jumbo-Visma and Movistar Team , who defended the positions of Primoz Roglich and Alejandro Valverde , controlled the gap in the head of the peloton.

About 50 kilometers before the finish, the situation in the race exploded, as echelons began to form in a section with a crosswind. In the first echelon were all the leaders of the general classification - Roglich, Valverde and David Gudeu ( Groupama-FDJ ). Very soon, the situation calmed down again, the lagging drivers got the opportunity to return to the main group.

Stepan Kuryanov lagged behind the gap after the two intermediate finishes, in front of the final stage of the stage there were five riders - Boev, Nych, De Marki, Clark and Plan. For 15 kilometers to the finish line, after a series of attacks, only three remained in the group - Nich, De Marks and Clark. Peléton had been losing to leaders for less than a minute by this time. 12 kilometers before the end, an unexpected attack on one of the hills was undertaken by Jeffrey Bouchard ( AG2R La Mondiale ) and Tom Dumoulin ( Team Sunweb ). Soon, the famous Dutchman unhooked the Frenchman, and a little later he drove through De Marki, who at that moment had already thrown Nicha and Clark off the wheel.

Six kilometers before the finish, there was a blockage in which all the leaders of the overall standings were stuck with the exception of Primoz Roglich, as well as many applicants for victory at the stage. On the last kilometers, Dumoulin was caught up, and a group of Valverde, Gudeu and Buchmann desperately tried to overtake the first fragment of the peloton. The persecution was successful.

Sprint in a short but very steep segment was first started by Alexander Kristoff ( UAE Team Emirates ), but he had some problems with the bike. The leader was young Italian Matteo Mosketti ( Trek-Segafredo ), but in the last meters he was confidently beaten by Caleb Ewan ( Lotto Soudal ).

Stage 5

The 181-km flat stage began with another escape, in which again there were only racers of two pro-continental teams - Stepan Kuryanov , Anton Vorobyov , Sergey Shilov ( Gazprom-RusVelo ), Charles Plane and Fabio Calabria ( Team Novo Nordisk ). Kuryanov and Plan were ahead for the fourth time in a row and continued their struggle for secondary classifications. The fugitives' maximum advantage this time reached only four and a half minutes. Already 100 kilometers before the finish, the gap narrowed to two minutes and it was clear that there was no chance of winning the gap, however, even the fugitives themselves hardly believed in success. This time they were returned to the field at a time when more than 30 kilometers remained before the completion of the stage.

Speeds began to increase only in the last 10 kilometers, when the participating teams began preparations for the final sprint. Four kilometers to the finish line, French sprinter Mark Sarreau ( Groupama-FDJ ) fell. At the decisive moment, Alexander Kristoff again managed to push forward Fernando Gaviria ( UAE Team Emirates ), while on the wheel of the Colombian sprinter Elia Viviani ( Deceuninck-Quick Step ) and Sam Bennett ( Bora – Hansgrohe ) were located. The sprint turned out to be very tight, the fight with Gaviria, Bennett and Viviani was led by Marcel Kittel ( Team Katusha – Alpecin ). Ultimately, Elia Viviani was a little faster than her competitors.

Stage 6

The second mountain stage of the Arab stage race began at a high pace, this time, none of the racers of the pro-continental teams were simply released forward. On the first kilometers there was a massive blockage, which did not cause serious injuries. About 20 kilometers after the start, Australian Adam Hansen ( Lotto Soudal ) managed to get away from the field, soon gaining a two-minute advantage. Soon, seven riders rushed in pursuit of him: Michael Merkev , Elia Viviani ( Deceuninck-Quick Step ), Marcel Sieberg , Jan Tratnik ( Bahrain – Merida ), Michael Albazini ( Mitchelton – Scott ), Joey Rosskopf ( CCC Team ) and William Clark ( Trek-Segafredo ).

The persecution group quickly caught up with Hansen, the gap between the separation and the field then began to gradually increase. Viviani drove ahead with the obvious goal of scoring sprint points at intermediate finishes to beat Stepan Kuryanov ( Gazprom-RusVelo ) and Charles Plane ( Team Novo Nordisk ) in the fight for the green jersey. Until the first intermediate finish, Hansen could not be caught, so Viviani limited himself to points for second place, but in the second interval, the Italian champion received the maximum points. Immediately after this, Viviani and Merkev decided to lag behind fellow travelers by separation, they no longer had any motivation to stay ahead. The gap, meanwhile, continued to widen, no one was trying to catch up. Jumbo-Visma was quite satisfied with the composition of the group of leaders; the leaders did not have a single driver dangerous in the overall standings for Primosh Roglich . 55 kilometers to the finish line, the advantage of the first six reached nine minutes. It seemed that the stage would go away, but when a little more than 40 kilometers remained to the end, Jaime Castrillo ( Movistar Team ) and Kes Bol ( Team Sunweb ) appeared ahead, who began the accented pursuit. A little later, three more joined the persecution - Dmitry Gruzdev , Daniil Fominykh ( Astana Pro Team ) and Nikias Arndt ( Team Sunweb ). 25 kilometers to the top of the rise, Bol, Arndt, Gruzdev, Fominykh and Castrillo reduced the gap to 6.15.

For 19 kilometers to the finish line, the road began to go uphill, at which time the gap narrowed to less than five minutes. Chad Hague ( Team Sunweb ) replaced the riders who previously worked in the head. Quite unexpectedly, Roglich's squire - Jos van Emden and Tony Martin decided to help him. Sieberg lagged behind very quickly on the rise, followed by Hansen. 12 and a half kilometers to the finish line, when less than three minutes were left from the gap, Tratnik decided to speed up in isolation. Nobody could cover the acceleration of the Slovenian, Rosskopf and Clark became his closest pursuers, Albazini was unable to do this pace. Over 10 and a half kilometers to the summit, Rosskopf and Clark unexpectedly caught up with Tratnik, although before that it seemed that the Slovene was able to drive away from them quite far. Tony Gallopan ( AG2R La Mondiale ) decided to attack seven and a half kilometers to the top, but his acceleration was short-lived, Haga quickly returned him to the main formation.

After another kilometer from Rosskopf, first Clark lagged behind, and then Tratnik. At this time, in the field, Hagi's forces ended, he was replaced in the first position by Ruben Fernandez ( Movistar Team ). Six kilometers before the completion of the stage, Rosskopf won the main group in just a minute. After Fernandez, the pace began to inflame Laurence de Plus ( Jumbo-Visma ) - the last of Roglic's squire. Thanks to his efforts, the main group finally began to sift heavily, and Rosskopf got two and a half kilometers to the top of the mountain.

De Plus looked very powerful and so drove everyone to the top of a gentle mountain. The fate of the stage was decided in the sprint. Roglich was pressed to the sides, and he lost a little speed, but he still managed to give a powerful sprint from about fifth position. Sprint opened Tom Dumoulin, but Roglich managed to get ahead of him in the last meters.

Stage 7

At the start of the final 145-kilometer stage, a gap formed in which there were three riders: Benoit Confroix ( AG2R La Mondiale ), Dmitry Gruzdev ( Astana Pro Team ) and William Clark ( Trek-Segafredo ). The fugitives were not released too far, their maximum advantage did not exceed five minutes. The backlog began to decrease on the last 25 kilometers, but this did not happen too quickly. For 10 kilometers to the finish line, the Kosnefroi-Gruzdev-Clark trio had one minute left. The fugitives were finally neutralized two and a half kilometers before the completion of the stage.

In the last one and a half kilometers, the Lotto Soudal racers, carrying Caleb Ewan , took the dominant position. After the final turn, about 400 meters to the finish line, Alexander Kristoff began to take forward his sprinter Fernando Gaviria ( UAE Team Emirates ). As a result, Gaviria began to finish at a noticeably greater speed than Caleb Ewan. Sam Bennett won the fight for a position on the wheel of Gaviria. He managed to get ahead of the Colombian and won a confident victory.