VP attends UAE Tour cyclists, Bennets wins 6th stage as Pogacar keeps lead
UAE Team Emirates’ Pogacar goes into stage seven with a 45sec lead on last year’s champion Adam Yates with Portuguese rookie Joao Almeida in third at 1min 12secs
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, on Friday atended a part of the Dubai Stage of the third edition of the UAE Tour
Sheikh Mohammed followed the race from the starting point (Abu Kadra Roundabout) passing through the city’s most iconic landmarks including Burj Khalifa and finishing at Palm Jumeirah.
He greeted the cyclists. Sheikh Mohammed expressed his happiness at the large participation of national youth as well as foreign teams in this unique sporting event in the Middle East region.
Sheikh Mohammed also praised the efforts of the organising commitee for hosting the event in the Emirates, since cyclists toured most of the emirates and regions of the country, reflecting the prestigious position that the country occupies in the international sporting circles and the confidence it enjoys with various international bodies.
Ireland’s Sam Bennet (Deceuninck-quick Step) claimed his second bunch sprint victory of the race at Palm Jumeirah the penultimate stage six, beating Elia Viviani (Cofidis), who had already won twice on the same finish line in the past, and Pascal Ackermann (Bora-hansgrohe).
On the eve of the final stage, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) comfortably retained the overall lead, despite crosswinds that generated some action in the peloton.
The smiley Irishman, who cried ater his first Tour de France stage win last season, can bag a hat-trick of wins Saturday on the seventh and final stage which also looks perfect for his strengths.
The 30-year-old said he would certainly go for it. “We’re prety much nailing it at the minute,” said Bennet.
“I really want stage seven and we’ll for sure go for it again on Saturday.”
The Slovenian Pogacar goes into stage seven with a 45sec lead on last year’s champion Adam Yates with Portuguese rookie Joao Almeida in third at 1min 12sec.
“That’s another day gone by,” the Team UAE leader Pogacar said. “It was quite hectic with the wind in the middle of the race but we managed to stay all together. I hope tomorrow is a similar day.
“There were some hard moments with the crosswind, but our team did a good job keeping me safe. We were together throughout the stage. I’m happy this is over. We did the sprint [together] with Fernando Gaviria. I’m not that kind of guy that gives orders around, but we have a lot of riders who are still more experienced than me and I trust them completely.
“I don’t have to worry about anything, I just ride my bike. It’s a good team.” Speaking about Fernando Gaviria’s fith place he added:
“This is a sign that he’s coming back. Tomorrow hehasonemorechanceandwillfeelmoreconfident he can do a really good sprint again. 5th is quite good among really good sprinters, so I think he’s coming back.”
The130-strongpelotonheadedintostrongwinds Friday with the temperature at 25 degrees Celcius for the 165km run around Dubai.
Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome failed to finish with the main pack and crossed the line 2min 27sec down on the day.
“I feel stronger every day,” Froome said on Thursday of his bid to get up to speed ater coming to Dubai straight from rehab in California.
The 35-year-old insists he was not here to win but tostarthispreparationsforthetourdefranceinjune.
He is 41st in the overall standings here, 19min and 5sec behind Pogacar.
UAETOURPRESENTSTOTHEWORLDIMAGESOF SPLENDOR OF OUR COUNTRY, SAYS TAYER: Matar Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, has expressed his highest gratitude and appreciation to Sheikh Mohammed for his presence during the sixth stage, the 165km Dubai Stage, of the third edition of the UAE Tour on Friday.
Tayer said: “The keenness of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to follow the riders during their participation in the Dubai stage every year confirms the interest and support of His Highness for the UAE Tour, and his presence inspires and motivates participants to perform at their best and compete strongly.
“His Highness is a staunch believer in the importance of sports in general, and cycling in particular, in society, as well as its positive effects on the health, happiness and vitality of the community.
“His Highness’ presence is also a reminder of the importance of continuing to work in this field and building on the gains, and contributing towards the achievement of our wise leadership’s goals for the people of our beloved nation and all those live here.”