With 10 matches remaining Arsenal lead a three-way title race having won eight successive games
The UAE Team Emirates rider Tadej Pogacar kept his title hopes alive by finishing second to surprise winner Jonas Vingegaard of Jumbo-Visma in the fifth stage of the UAE Tour on Thursday.
Pogacar defended leader’s jersey and extends his overall lead on the General Classification standings to 46 seconds after reaching the finish line behind Vingegaard at Jebel Jais.
The UAE Tour continues into the weekend with the 165km sixth stage coming to Dubai starting from Deira Island and finishing on the Palm on Friday.
Meanwhile, the 170km fifth stage on Thursday saw the peloton start in Fujairah and finish on the second and final summit of the Tour at Jebel Jais. The wide roads saw a lot of Pogacar’s main GC rivals bunched together until around four kilometers to go.
Astana rider Alexey Lutsenko put up a brave fight and was the protagonist of the day’s main breakaway and managed to hold on until around three kilometres to go.
The race then became more exciting with Vincenzo Nibali of Trek-Segafredo and Deceuininck-QuickStep rider Joao Almeida ramping up the speed.
Lutsenko was caught by eventual winner Vingegaard inside the final 400m with Pogacar and Ineos Grenadiers rider Adam Yates just behind.
Pogacar looked strong in the final meters and outsprinted GC rival Yates to take second place, keeping the red leader’s jersey heading into the final stages.
“Today, I was focusing more on the GC guys. In the end there was a lot of headwind in the final climb so it was hard to follow all the attacks,” the 22-year-old Slovenian rider said.
“I focused on the most important thing and that was to defend the leader’s jersey. It was a great ride by Vingegaard. I am happy with the second place.
“There was too much headwind to make a difference between Yates and myself, in the end it came down to a sprint. Now, we still have two more stages, nothing is finished until we cross the last finish line so we need to concentrate and stay focused on the next two stages.”
Now the Tour de France winner is looking forward to Friday’s flat course in Dubai.
“Tomorrow we will be riding in Dubai, it’s a special place and I am looking forward to it. The UAE fans are great and I enjoy riding here,” Pogacar, the Tour de France winner said.
STAGE RESULT
1 - Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), 170km in 4h19’08”, average speed 39.361km/h
2 - Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), at 3''
3 - Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers), at 3''
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 - Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates)
2 - Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers) at 45''
3 - João Almeida (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) at 1'12''
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