After a great collective performance on the hills of Jebel Jais, Intermarché – Wanty – Gobert Matériaux took off for an entirely flat stage 5 of the UAE Tour (2.UWT).
No difficulty was listed on the 182km route, but the crossing towards the artificial archipelago of Al Marjan was particularly nervous, with several attempts of echelons within the first hour of race.
Directed by Valerio Piva and Pieter Vanspeybrouck, our riders remained united and alert at the head of the peloton. Czech rider Jan Hirt benefited of the work of his teammates to get safely to the finish line within the same time of today’s stage winner, Jasper Philipsen, who won in a bunch sprint.
Tomorrow, a new flat stage will give one last opportunity to the sprinters to battle on the site of the Dubai 2020 Expo, before the closing stage on the top of Jebel Hafeet.
