Degenkolb captures the mountains

Cyclists pedal their way towards the finish line inFujairah on Thursday.

The third stage of the Dubai Tour was pure drama. A sandstorm caused panic in the peloton just when it was passing through breathtaking desert dunes.
When the winds died down, images emerged of Marcel Kittel's bleeding left eye. The German, who won the first two stages, was punched in the face by Team Astana's Andrey Grivko.
Grivko was later disqualified from the race as a short-term punishment by the jury. But Kittel never recovered from the setback as John Degenkolb's sprint into the finish line gave him the third stage win as well as the third place in the general classification.
Kittel, the Quick-Step Floors rider, nevertheless kept his hopes of retaining the Dubai title alive by finishing the race.
Grivko's ugly tactics put a damper on a fascinating stage laced with winding roads in the majestic Hajar mountains and a long tunnel that featured just before the finish line at Al Aqah, Fujairah.
Degenkolb was in no mood to look back at the negatives after having registered his first stage win of the year. It was also his first win over world-class opponents since he suffered horrific injuries in a training crash in 2016.
His late push in the final stretch kept Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (Dimension Data) and Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Merida) in second and third places respectively.
It was also Trek-Segafredo's first victory of the year.
"I really wanted to get this win for the team," a delighted Degenkolb later told reporters in the Press conference on Thursday.
"Races like this are also mental games. Of course, I want to be successful but it's just great to get support like this from the team. For me that's crucial because in the end, it is mental as well. You are winning these races in your head also. Of course, you can lose it in your head too," the 28-year-old German rider said.
"It was great that the team just kept believing in me even though I didn't feel super great after the sandstorm. It was amazing. We had a super good lead out - it was just perfectly timed. I could jump on Kiel Reijnen's wheel and then luckily in the last few metres, I could also overtake him."
With a crucial win under his belt, Degenkolb is confident of taking the attack to Kittel, the overall leader.
"I am very satisfied with how everything is going right now and tomorrow is a big day for us. I won the Hatta stage two years ago and I think it is a good stage for us," he said.
"I will give everything to be as best as possible in the end, of course, but the goal was to find the rhythm here and have a good start into the season. I think that's definitely what we got already and everything that comes now is just bonus."
Degenkolb hailed the spirit of the riders for putting up a brave show despite the adverse weather conditions.
"In a moment like this when you have a sandstorm, there's not much you can do. In the end I can also understand the decision to keep going. We agreed together that we will just ride easy to avoid trouble," he said.
The 172-km fourth stage on Friday will take the riders to the Hatta Dam where a steep climb awaits them.
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com