The Dutchman wins again
Update: The Alpecin-Fenix team including Mathieu van der Poel have decided to withdraw from the UAE Tour, as one of the team members has unfortunately contracted coronavirus.
Mathieu van der Poel didn’t need to readjust to the tarmac for very long. Having won the Cyclocross World Championships for the third year in a row recently, he added another win at the first stage of the UAE Tour. He emerged victorious from a reduced bunch sprint after a tough day full of crosswinds.
“There was a lot of wind from the beginning and I was immediately in the first echelon,” Van der Poel explained. “I felt good but with the headwind, we regrouped with the bunch and then, after the intermediate sprint, it split again and I was just able to catch the first group and it was a really hard race until the finish.”
“I didn’t really expect this. I took some rest [after the Worlds victory] and then I trained for a week with the team and then I came here. I think this is a cyclocross shape in the desert.”
UAE Tour 2021: Stage one results
- Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) – 3:45:47
- David Dekker (Jumbo-Visma)
- Michael Mørkøv (Deceuninck – Quick-Step)
- Emils Liepins (Trek-Segafredo)
- Elia Viviani (Cofidis)
- Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates)
- Anthony Roux (Groupama-FDJ)
- Chris Harper (Jumbo-Visma)
- João Almeida (Deceuninck – Quick-Step)
- Fausto Masnada (Deceuninck – Quick-Step)
Legend
Instincts
