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It was the closest dash but on the UAE Tour, with Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike) narrowly denying Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) his hat-trick of stage wins on stage 5 in a photo-finish victory.
Merlier was majorly out of place within the ultimate kilometre, compelled to launch from means down within the peloton with Kooij beginning his dash on the right-hand facet of the street off the again of a powerful Astana Qazaqstan lead out for Mark Cavendish.
Because the Brit ran out of steam, Kooij made his dart for the road and simply managed to pip Merlier by just a few millimetres on the line with an excellent bike throw. Sam Welsford (Bora-Hansgrohe) was third after a considerably higher leadout, however was simply overhauled by Merlier and Kooij.
This was Kooij’s sixth win at WorldTour degree and equally most prestigious, given the standard of the dash subject, alongside his stage victory at Paris-Good in 2023.
“I’m actually completely satisfied. I didn’t know, so we needed to wait a bit, however after the primary two sprints the place it bought higher, you’ll want to get every part to get the win and fortuitously at the moment I did,” stated Kooij instantly after the end.
The techniques had been clear for the Dutchman who nailed his targets for the ultimate kilometre, in distinction to second place Merlier who began his dash means down on the eventual winner after an absent leadout, albeit solely narrowly dropping out.
“By no means hit an excessive amount of with the headwind and attempt to get an excellent place within the final roundabout,” stated Kooij of his techniques within the ultimate.
“I assumed perhaps it was a bit far however then I might comply with Mark Cavendish on the best and fortuitously noticed a little bit hole to cross.”
It was victory quantity 30 for Kooij and one other continuation of his journey to the higher echelons of sprinting. He’s set to go to his first Grand Tour on the Giro d’Italia in Could the place he’ll hope to repeat his success with Wout van Aert as leadout.
How It Unfolded
The longest stage of the 2024 UAE Tour kicked off with the second early assault in as many days from Hurt Vanhoucke (Lotto Dstny), however this time the Belgian had a teammate with him in Lennert Van Eetvelt.
Jacopo Mosca (Lidl-Trek) additionally joined them, with Mark Stewart (Corratec-Vini Fantini) deciding towards a fourth day within the break.
Van Eetvelt began the day 43 seconds down on race chief Jay Vine (UAE Workforce Emirates) and twelfth general after Rainer Kepplinger (Bahrain Victorious) was sadly compelled to desert with a damaged hand sustained in a crash on stage 4.
The Belgian grew to become the digital chief on the street because the trio’s benefit grew to greater than 5 minutes. He wasn’t hoping to make it to the end with that lead however as an alternative wished the six bonus seconds obtainable on the 182km route from Al Aqah to Umm Al Quwain.
Van Eetvelt swept up each intermediate sprints at Al Saadi Roundabout and Al Lebsa, transferring him as much as equal ninth general with Vine’s teammate Mikkel Bjerg with a 37-second deficit to the Australian.
There have been indicators of chaos breaking out within the peloton as Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Dstny) crashed and Alpecin-Deceuninck and Soudal-QuickStep threatened to separate the peloton within the growing wind with 84km to go.
Nothing got here of the accelerations and with Mosca reeled in round 60km from the end, all focus turned to the method to the dash and planning the right way to cease Merlier from taking a hat-trick of stage wins at this 12 months’s race.
Roundabouts and a collection of turns inside the ultimate 10km reshuffled the pack and the positions of the dash trains. The nerves had been growing with every change of route stringing out the peloton and no workforce establishing full management.
The speeds flew up with 3km to go and Bora-Hansgrohe and Movistar had been finest positioned on the entrance of proceedings. Merlier and Soudal Fast-Step remained calm within the bunch and had been once more trying to depart it late as that they had carried out on phases 1 and 4.
Mark Cavendish’s Astana Qazaqstan prepare lastly discovered its type with the Manxman getting into the ultimate within the first ten spots, however as Michael Mørkøv pulled off and Cavendish began his dash, it was clear he didn’t have the velocity.
Kooij had latched onto his wheel and the Brit allowed him sufficient of a niche up the within of the limitations to come back round. On the left-hand facet of the street, Welsford had been piloted efficiently sufficient by Danny van Poppel and launched his cost with Merlier in shut pursuit.
The trio got here to the road in a blanket end with neither Merlier nor Kooij positive if that they had taken the victory. Because the photo-finish got here in, it was the Dutchman who had simply come out on prime with Merlier only a tyre’s width behind on the line.
Tomorrow’s sixth stage will give Merlier and Soudal Fast-Step an instantaneous probability to precise revenge after lacking out at the moment with a poor leadout.
The 138km stage from the Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum to Abu Dhabi Breakwater would be the ultimate probability for the quick males within the UAE, so count on a determined and livid cost to the road as they try to get one thing out of the race forward of the summit end finale on Sunday at Jebel Hafeet.
Outcomes
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