Today's Edition
KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)
Lorena Wiebes underlined her status as the premier sprinter in world cycling by claiming the opening stage of the UAE Tour Women for the third consecutive year. The Dutch national champion, riding for Team SD Worx, powered clear of her rivals in Madinat Zayed on Thursday to take the seventh UAE Tour stage victory of her career and her 119th professional road win.
Wiebes bided her time behind the wheel of home favourite and UAE Team ADQ’s Lara Gillespie before launching a decisive burst on the left-hand side of the road inside the 10-kilometre stretch. She comfortably distanced the field to win by several bike lengths, with Gillespie taking second and Britain’s Zoe Backstedt finishing third.
The 111-kilometre stage from Al Mirfa to Madinat Zayed was defined by the long, straight desert roads of Al Dhafra region. While the early part of the day saw several breakaway attempts, including a three-rider move featuring Gaia Segato, Nina Berton, and Monica Castagna, the peloton refused to grant the runaways any significant leeway.
The trio was reeled in with 85km still to go, leading to a second break by Elisa De Vallier and Andrea Casagranda, though they too were reeled in well before the finish.
As the race entered the final 30km, the tension in the bunch led to a series of separate crashes that briefly disrupted the rhythm. Among those caught up in the incidents were Katrine Aalerud and Noa Jansen, while pre-race favourite Katarzyna Niewiadoma was forced into a frantic chase to rejoin the peloton after being held up in the convoy with just 10km remaining.
In the closing 5km, the lead-out trains began to battle for supremacy on the wide, exposed boulevards leading into Madinat Zayed. UAE Team ADQ and Fenix-Premier Tech moved to the front to support their respective sprinters, while SD Worx-Protime chose a more tactical approach, allowing their riders to navigate the chaos independently.
“This win makes it a great start to the season,” Wiebes said after the podium ceremony. “We did a good job as a team in the last 10 kilometres. We knew from two years ago that this is a difficult finish. The straight line is so long. We could also use the other teams in the final and luckily I got a gap for sprinting.”
The Dutchwoman conceded that her team had altered their usual tactics for the opening day. “We know that we don’t have our best lead out here so we started our lead out early, then Barbara Guarischi and I would find our way. That’s how we could use Team UAE and it worked out well today. I chose Lara Gillespie’s wheel, seeing that her train had a lot of speed. I gambled a bit by choosing the left side.”
Having secured the first Red Jersey of the race, Wiebes indicated she is not finished yet. “I said this morning that one stage win was my target, but we’ll try to get the next two as well. We also have Anna van der Breggen there for GC so hopefully we can show some more good things in the coming days,” she added.
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
Position | Rider | Team | Time1 | Lorena Wiebes | Team SD Worx | 2:26:17
2 | Lara Gillespie | UAE Team ADQ | +4”
3 | Zoe Backstedt | Canyon//SRAM | +6”
