Viva Viviani
Italian rider clinches Stage 5 along with Dubai Tour top honours
dubai — And then, he joined the ‘Circle of Stars’
Elia Viviani kept his date with destiny to clinch his maiden Dubai Tour title on Saturday.
The Italian, who had pulled on the leader’s Blue Jersey over three Stages of the Tour, made it his own in stellar fashion with a scintillating win the fifth and final Stage of the Tour.
The Quick-Step Floors rider, who had won the Ras Al Khaimah Stage to take ownership of the General Classification on the second day, slunk in from the back before scything past three other riders to clinch the 132km Meraas Stage.
The Stage win was his third of the season after he had won a Stage at the Santos Tour Down Under in Australia and ended a fine week for Viviani, who also celebrated his 29th birthday with a Stage victory during the Tour.
Viviani topped the General Classification with an overall time of 19 hours, five minutes and 46 seconds, 12 seconds over main rival Magnus Cort Nielsen of Astana Pro Team.
Viviani’s countryman Sonny Colbrelli, winner of the Hatta Dam Stage finished 14 seconds adrift.
Viviani’s victory extended QuickStep Floors’ domination in Dubai with the team having produced four title wins in the Dubai Tour.
England’s Mark Cavendish had won it with Etixx-Quick Step in 2015 and Germany’s Marcel Kittel had back-to-back victories in 2016 and 2017, when riding for them.
It was also Quick-Step Floors’ 10th win of the season.
Viviani also topped the General Classification by points and took the Red Jersey as well.
Team Katusha Alpecin’s Marco Haller finished second to Viviani in the Stage, while Aqua Blue Sport’s Adam Blythe was third.
Team Katusha Alpecin’s leader rider Kittel finished sixth in the Stage after his lead-out train split up following a five-rider crash at the right turn, towards the end. The German, who endured a rough week, finished 10th in the General Classification, 38 seconds down on Viviani.
Meanwhile, Cavendish was halted by that pile-up and saw his hopes of another Stage win go up in smoke. The Briton had won the 180km Dubai Silicon Oasis Stage in Fujairah on Thursday.
Nielsen, who was making his debut for Astana Pro Team, took the White Jersey for the Best Young Rider, while Team Novo Nordisk’s Quentin Valognes pulled on the UAE Flag Jersey after topping the Intermediate Sprint Jersey Classification.
The final Stage had begun at Skydive Dubai and the 106 riders passed some great landmarks of Dubai such as the Meydan Racecourse — home to the Dubai World Cup, Mushrif Park, Al Mamzar Beach, Dubai Creek, Dubai Frame, Dubai Museum, Port Rashid, The Union House Flag, Dubai Water Canal, the Burj Al Arab and the Burj Khalifa before finishing at the City Walk.
The riders involved in the crash — Cofidis Solution Credits’ Nacer Bouhanni, Team Dimension Data’s Mark Cavendish, Trek-Segafredo’s John Degenkolb, Alexander Kristoff of UAE Team Emirates and Borut Bozic of Bahrain-Merida — resumed and finished the Stage.
james@khaleejtimes.com