Kopecky lifts UAE Tour Women crown as Kraak wins final stage
Lotte Kopecky has become the second winner of the UAE Tour Women after securing overall victory following the fourth and final stage in Abu Dhabi yesterday.
The Belgian rider finished 13 seconds ahead of Neve Bradbury (Canyon//SRAM Racing) with Margarita Garcia (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) third, a further 31 seconds behind.
Team SD Worx Protime were denied a clean-sweep of stage wins when Amber Kraak held on to win ahead of Lorena Wiebes – who took the first two stages before teammate Kopecky’s victory on top of Jebel Hafeet on Saturday – and Daria Pikulik to seal Stage 4 honours.
But it was Lopecky who became the race’s second general classification winner following Elisa Longo Borghini’s victory in last year’s inaugural race. “Coming to the UAE Women Tour, I hoped that I could win but it’s very early in the season and I didn’t know how my opponents were,” said 28-yearold Kopecky. “As for myself, the outcome shows that I’ve worked in the right direction.
“Racing here is completely different than in Europe. If the wind blows in the right direction, it can make a very interesting racing.”
Dutch rider Kraak spoiled the Team SD Worx party by going solo from the day’s breakaway to hang on and take the stage win. Wiebes came closest to catching the winner, just falling short after launching her sprint with Kraak in sight. Behind her, Pikulik (Human Powered Health) rounded out the podium.
“This is my first solo victory in the WorldTour. I’m not really used to that but next time I will maybe celebrate with my arms up in the air,” said Kraak.