Pogacar takes fifth stage of UAE Tour
It’s pretty much mission accomplished, says overall leader Yates
It was a day to cherish for the UAE Team Emirates as young Tadej Pogacar emerged victorious in the fifth stage of the ongoing UAE Tour with a stunning display on Jebel Hafeet mountain yesterday.
With the experience of stage 3 under his belt, Tadej Pogacar responded to a series of attacks from General Classification leader Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) and then attacked himself to distance a select group of riders that formed on the 10km climb. They were joined by David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) and Alexey Lutsenko (Mitchelton-Scott) as all were locked in combat — desperate for the stage win trading constant attacks unable to create a gap between themselves.
When one went, the other followed hot on their wheel to
the finish line where Pogacar just edged out rival Lutsenko with a bike throw at the line in an important win on home soil for the team.
Sven Erik Bystrom and Davide Formolo each pulled the peloton up the Jebel Hafeet ascent as the whole team worked to position Pogacar as well as they could.
An overwhelmed Pogacar said: “It was an amazing win. On the climb I tried to attack over five times, but I saw Yates was strong so I played it smart and waited for the sprint. I started the sprint quite early because I knew the last corner was crucial.
“We took the corner side by side but I kept fighting and pushing until the line. I saw the gap in the last metres and I threw the bike and won in the end. The whole team worked perfectly today.”