Stage 0: Pre-Race Press Conference Full Results and Report
| 
Pascal Ackermann | 
Vincenzo Nibali looking well groomed to start the first World Tour race of the year | 
Tadej Pogačar | 
Pascal Ackermann | 
Vincenzo Nibali | 
Chris Froome | 
Photo-op with the GC and sprint favorites | 
Tadej Pogacar: “I think I’m still the same rider even after winning the Tour de France. I have the same motivation, the same focus and the same goals this year. The UAE Tour is a really important event for our team as it’s our home race. We were a little bit disappointed to finish only second last year here but we have another chance this time. During our training camp at Al Ain, I rode Jebel Hafeet a couple of times every day but it’ll be my first experience of climbing Jebel Jais during this race.” | 
Adam Yates: “I’ll try to repeat my win from last year. I’ve felt good in training but it’s never the same as racing. The team is supporting me but we have a few options with [recent winner of the Tour de La Provence] Ivan Sosa. There are good climbers with me in the team but the ITT doesn’t necessarily favor me. We’ll just do our best on that stage and take it from there.” | 
Filippo Ganna: “I hope to win the time trial but every race is different and we have other big goals in this UAE Tour. We’ve got Adam [Yates] to support. I’ll prepare for the time trial only after we’ve completed Stage 1. I’ll take the race step by step and day by day.” | 
Chris Froome: “I’m very excited to start my season here in the UAE where we always receive a very warm welcome and I’m looking forward to racing. I’ve had a good winter in California to fix my weaknesses and my rehab is definitely more complete than it was this time last year. I’m not here to win the race overall - it’s just about getting back into racing. We have a strong team with Ben Hermans as well. He can be our GC rider.” | 
Mathieu van der Poel: “I’m here to be part of the sprint train for Jasper Philipsen. My main goal is to see how my level of fitness is compared to the best climbers. Other than that, I haven’t set any goals for myself yet. It’s a restart for me after the cyclo-cross season. I hope to feel better and better every day and help the team as much as possible.” | 
Vincenzo Nibali: “It’s important to be here. I came out of the Étoile de Bessèges in good condition. I’m here to put myself against the other good climbers. This race can give me the answers I’m looking for in terms of my fitness ahead of my upcoming big races: the Tirreno-Adriatico and even later the Giro d’Italia.” | 
Sam Bennett: “It’s my third time riding the UAE Tour. I like it because of the nice roads and the great bunch of sprinters who always come here. The first race of the year is always exciting and it’s interesting to see where the form is against the rest of the guys - for me, it’s just a matter of getting back into racing.” | 
Pascal Ackermann: “The UAE Tour is the most impressive race of the year with so many top sprinters in contention. In the first WorldTour race of the season, you never know how the guys are. It makes it a specific race and a very challenging one. Last week after the training, it was too cold to ride a bike back home with temperatures around -6°, so I decided to go skiing instead. We’ll see how it works, going straight from skiing in the mountains to sprinting in the UAE Tour!” |
Stage 1: Al Ruwais → Al Mirfa, 177 km Full Results and Report
| 
UAE TEAM EMIRATES during the Stage 1 teams presentation at their home race | 
Tour de France overall winner, Tadej POGACAR (SLO/UAE TEAM EMIRATES), not showing the pressure on his shoulders to win the overall for his team's local race | 
Caleb Ewen | 
Filippo GANNA (ITA/INEOS GRENADIERS) is thinking about tomorrow's ITT | 
Chris FROOME (GBR/ISRAEL START-UP NATION) in his first year for his new team | 
Start scene for Stage 1 at Al Dhafra Castle | 
Ready to drop the flag on the first World Tour race of the year | 
| 
| 
| 
After the neutral start, the race is about to get off to dramatic start | 
Splits in the race right after the neutral start | 
Echelons! | 
Overall view of the echelons | 
| 
After shallowing sand for most of the day, the riders probably wished they left their masks on | 
| 
| 
| 
Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands / Alpecin-Fenix) leading the break | 
| 
| 
Don't be fooled, there were no hills on this stage; Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands / Alpecin-Fenix) out of the saddle for a change of pace | 
Sprint finish in Al Mirfa | 
Mathieu VAN DER POEL (NED/ALPECIN-FENIX) wins Stage 1 in 3:45:47, 2 David DEKKER (NED/JUMBO-VISMA) , 3 Michael MØRKØV (DEN/DECEUNINCK - QUICK-STEP) , 4 Emils LIEPINS (LAT/TREK - SEGAFREDO) , 5 Elia VIVIANI (ITA/COFIDIS) , 6 Tadej POGAČAR (SLO/UAE TEAM EMIRATES) , 7 Anthony ROUX (FRA/GROUPAMA - FDJ) | 
Mathieu van der Poel said in the press conference: “It was really unexpected to be honest but it was windy from the beginning onwards. I was immediately in the first echelon and I felt good. But then, with the head wind, we regrouped with the peloton and the bunch split again after the intermediate sprint. I was able to catch the first group and it was very hard racing until the finish line. It was good to have teammates in the front group, especially Gianni [Vermeersch) who helped me a lot at the end because Roy was dropped a little bit before. Gianni did an amazing job again covering moves in the finale.I still felt really good for the sprint. I knew I just had to start sprinting when I thought it was the right moment to go. The hard racing was good for me for the sprint. Normally there were a few guys faster than me but the heat made it a very hard race as well. That gave me confidence that I could go for the sprint, which wasn’t the plan before. I didn’t expect such a stage and such a result at all. I had a rest after the cyclo-cross world championship and I started training with the team one week before coming to the UAE. So I think it's my cyclo-cross form that's made me a winner today.” | 
Stage 1 winner, Mathieu VAN DER POEL (NED/ALPECIN-FENIX) | 
and race leader, Mathieu VAN DER POEL (NED/ALPECIN-FENIX) |
Stage 2: Al Hudayriyat Island, 12 km Full Results and Report
| 
Dropping the flag on the Al Hudayriyat Island 13 km ITT | 
| 
He may have been 1:37 off the winning pace for a short ITT but André GREIPEL got a cool photo fior his efforts | 
Alejandro Valverde (ESP/Movistar) | 
Tadej Pogacar (SLO/UAE Team Emirate) | 
Not surprisingly, with 1-10 odds, Filippo GANNA (ITA/INEOS GRENADIERS) won the 13km ITT | 
Filippo GANNA (ITA/INEOS GRENADIERS) on this way to winning in 13:56 by 14s | 
Filippo GANNA (ITA/INEOS GRENADIERS) has now won all five of his ITT since winning the ITT Rainbows at the Worlds | 
Stage winner Filippo Ganna said in the press conference: “I am really happy with this result, achieved in this amazing Rainbow Jersey. Every ITT is a different race, it is never easy. Some people think that because I am the World Champion, ITTs are easy for me, but it's not like this, every new race is a new test. Today I did a good performance, the next time I’ll be doing one will be at Tirreno-Adriatico. Yesterday we had to stop for 'physiologic needs' and then the echelons started. Luckily we had Adam [Yates] in the front, we hope he can claim back the Red Jersey that he won last year. The wind will still play an important role in this race, many things can still change. My focus now is to help Adam [Yates], especially before the climbs begin.” | 
Getting aero, 4th Tadej POGAČAR (SLO/UAE TEAM EMIRATES) + 24s | 
Best finish by GC contender, 4 Tadej POGAČAR (SLO/UAE TEAM EMIRATES) + 24s and now the race leader |
| 
5th Luis Leon SANCHEZ (ESP/ASTANA - PREMIER TECH) + 30s | 
6th João ALMEIDA (POR/DECEUNINCK - QUICK-STEP) + 30s and now 2nd overall + 5s | 
10th Matthias BRÄNDLE (AUT/ISRAEL START-UP NATION) + 38s | 
27th Alex DOWSETT (GBR/ISRAEL START-UP NATION) + 53s | 
Saving himself for tomorrow? 56 Alejandro Valverde (ESP/Movistar) + 1:13 | 
David DEKKER (NED/JUMBO-VISMA) was in the Red leader's jersey after Mathieu VAN DER POEL and his team, ALPECIN-FENIX, pulled out due to a staff member testing positive for covid-19 | 
A nice photo of David DEKKER (NED/JUMBO-VISMA) but not a nice result for a race leader (56th). | 
Inauspicious start for his new team, 83rd Chris Froome (GBR/Isreal Start-Up Nation) +1:36 | 
Stage 2 ITT winner, Filippo GANNA (ITA/INEOS GRENADIERS) is unbeatable in the Rainbows | 
| 
New race leader and last year's overall winner, Tadej POGAČAR (SLO/UAE TEAM EMIRATES): "I knew before the time trial that my shape is good at the moment and in the end, I did a really good time trial and I’m super happy with the result. Having the leader’s jersey is very good for us. We can go into the upcoming stages with confidence. It was pan-flat today but I actually like that a lot. I train on the flat just as much as on the mountains. Sometimes I prefer the mountains but sometimes I also enjoy riding on the flat, especially in time trials, which is a very nice discipline. I really like to race on the TT bike.Today, I was more focusing on myself and doing the best time I could than focusing on Joao Almeida’s abilities. It did matter to me though before the start how good he’d do. I knew he’d be good. As for me, I actually didn’t expect anything. I was just riding for myself. I think I’ve just done my best TT - for this short length. It was a really good performance from my perspective. Five seconds lead over Almeida is not a lot but it is an advantage. I’m in the defending position and he needs to attack. It’s easier to control than to have to make up time. But there are still five stages left and many things can happen. Tomorrow it’s the hardest mountain-top finish. I hope for the best legs I can have." | 
João ALMEIDA (POR/DECEUNINCK - QUICK-STEP) is only 5s back on GC: "I think I did a good effort today. I can be happy with this. It was short but really hard. I didn’t know what to expect. In the end, it’s about the time gap as well and it is a pretty small gap between me and Tadej Pogacar. We’re still very close to each other. I think I’m in a great position before the queen stage although I've never climbed Jebel Hafeet before. I actually don’t know these roads. It’s a bit of a disadvantage but I don’t think it’ll make a big difference. It’s not going to be easy for sure. We have a long day's riding before we reach the climb as well. Let’s hope for the best". |
Stage 3: Al Ain → Jebel Hafeet, 166 km Full Results and Report
| 
Twice a past winner on Jebel Hafeet, Alejandro Valverde (ESP/Movistar) was 55th today + 7:31 | 
EF Education colors before Stage 3 with 3rd best young rider, Neilson POWLESS borrowing the white jersey | 
| 
Start scene in Al Ain | 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
Greases the pedals of the eventual winner, Tadej Pogacar (SLO - UAE Team Emirates) | 
Race leader, Tadej Pogacar (SLO - UAE Team Emirates) fully protected | 
Hitting the Jebel Hafeet summit finish | 
| 
Last break rider, Tony GALLOPIN (AG2R CITROEN) about to be caught | 
The view from Jebel Hafeet | 
Attrition taking hold | 
The front of the race with Adam Yates stretching his legs | 
Sepp KUSS (USA/JUMBO-VISMA) hung with 1-2 on the stage, Tadej POGAČAR (SLO/UAE TEAM EMIRATES) and Adam YATES (GBR/INEOS GRENADIERS) before fading to 11th + 1:09 | 
Tadej POGAČAR (SLO/UAE TEAM EMIRATES) keeping an eye on Adam YATES (GBR/INEOS GRENADIERS) | 
Adam YATES (GBR/INEOS GRENADIERS) attacks | 
And then there were two | 
Down on GC, it was up to Adam YATES (GBR/INEOS GRENADIERS) to attack Tadej POGAČAR (SLO/UAE TEAM EMIRATES) | 
Tadej POGAČAR (SLO/UAE TEAM EMIRATES) moves to the front | 
| 
| 
Tadej POGAČAR (SLO/UAE TEAM EMIRATES) beats Adam YATES (GBR/INEOS GRENADIERS) after leading through the final corners | 
Tadej POGAČAR (SLO/UAE TEAM EMIRATES) also won on Jebel Hafeet last year | 
| 
3rd Sergio Andres HIGUITA GARCIA (COL/EF EDUCATION - NIPPO) + 48s and 4th Emanuel BUCHMANN (GER/BORA - HANSGROHE) | 
The stage winner and red Jersey Tadej Pogačar said in the press conference: “I’m super proud and really happy with the win. Big thanks to the team today. They truly did a good job protecting me from the wind, but also in trying to defend from all the attacks. It was a good feeling. And, by taking the victory, I gained some seconds in the GC. We are one of the best teams in the world right now and this race is a big goal for us. It’s also our first WorldTour race in the calendar, so it’s kind of a hard race to start the season with. But it’s one of our objectives this year and we're doing our best. We came in good preparation. I knew that Adam would be strong, but I was trying to suffer on his wheel, behind him because I knew I had to hold a big power output for a long time. He attacked a few times and I defended. So I’m super happy with my performance. The gap is now bigger in the GC, but it’s still not finished, anything can happen. We need to be prepared, we need to stay focused, and we need to go into the next few stages with confidence. I really like this country and always love coming back here. There’s a really good welcome, good people around here. I also like the race because it’s well organised. No one can come to cheer for us, there are no spectators around the course, but I’m super happy that all the fans are watching on TV, cheering for us and giving us motivation that way. To everybody around the world: thank you for all the support.” | 
40th Chris FROOME (GBR/ISRAEL START-UP NATION) + 5:00 | 
Your Stage 3 winner, Tadej POGAČAR (SLO/UAE TEAM EMIRATES) also won on Jebel Hafeet last year | 
Tadej POGAČAR (SLO/UAE TEAM EMIRATES) extended his overall lead to 43s |
Stage 4: Al Marjan Island → Al Marjan Island, 204 km Full Results and Report
Stage 5: Fujairah → Jebel Jais, 170 km Full Results and Report
| 
Jersey leaders floating on a dock before Stage 5 at Da Fujairah Intl Marine Club | 
Start scene for Stage 5 at Da Fujairah Intl Marine Club | 
Up by 43s, race leader Tadej Pogacar (SLO - UAE Team Emirates) looking calm and relaxed | 
| 
| 
| 
Thomas De Gendt (BEL - Lotto Soudal) leading the break | 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
The 23 km at 5% finishing climb, Jebel Jais | 
| 
Vincenzo NIBALI (ITA/TREK - SEGAFREDO) attacked with 5 km to go before settling for 29th + 40s | 
Last break survivor by 11th Alexey LUTSENKO (KAZ/ASTANA - PREMIER TECH) + 5s | 
Alexey LUTSENKO (KAZ/ASTANA - PREMIER TECH) about to be caught by Jonas VINGEGAARD (DEN/JUMBO-VISMA) | 
Jonas VINGEGAARD (DEN/JUMBO-VISMA) celebrates early after an unmatched attack in the final km | 
Jonas VINGEGAARD (DEN/JUMBO-VISMA) wins Stage 5 in 4:19:08 ahead of 2 Tadej POGAČAR (SLO/UAE TEAM EMIRATES) + 3s, 3 Adam YATES (GBR/INEOS GRENADIERS), 4 Sergio Andres HIGUITA GARCIA (COL/EF EDUCATION - NIPPO) + 5s, 5 João ALMEIDA (POR/DECEUNINCK - QUICK-STEP) + 6s, 6 Nicholas SCHULTZ (AUS/BIKEEXCHANGE), 7 Sepp KUSS (USA/JUMBO-VISMA) + 8s, 8 Wouter POELS (NED/BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS), 9 Ben HERMANS (BEL/ISRAEL START-UP NATION) | 
The stage winner Jonas Vingegaard said in the press conference: “It was a very emotional win for me. It's been almost two years since my last victory. I came here to try and do well in the GC. Unfortunately, I happened to not be in the first group on Stage 1, so it was already gone and I suffered a bit on the first mountain stage as I found the the heat difficult to deal with. Our tactic this morning was for Sepp Kuss to attack within the last three kilometres while I was supposed to wait for the sprint. However, it became clear that it wasn’t going to finish with a sprint as the finale unfolded, and I saw an opportunity to go. I’m just really happy that I took the opportunity and now I have the stage victory.I don’t know if this win will open up more opportunities for me. We have a very strong team. Quite often I’ll be racing to help Primož [Roglič] or Steven [Kruijswijk] or whoever is the leader at a race. Of course, I’ll get my chance as well, but I’m still young, so I’m not stressing about that. In the future, I want to be a GC contender myself and I’ll ride for GC occasionally, as I was supposed to do here, but for now, my main job is to help the top leaders we have. I’m scheduled to ride La Vuelta again this year. I enjoyed doing it for Primoz last year. He’s a really good captain and a very nice guy. I want to ride for him.” | 
The finish of Stage 5 with Jonas VINGEGAARD (DEN/JUMBO-VISMA) crossing first | 
| 
Biggest win of Jonas VINGEGAARD (DEN/JUMBO-VISMA) career who also won a World Tour stage at Tour of Poland two years ago | 
2nd + 3s, the race leader Tadej POGAČAR (SLO/UAE TEAM EMIRATES): For me, it was a hard day. The most important thing was to defend the jersey and I really managed that. The team did that too. It was 'possible' to win the stage, but now it’s 'impossible' to change the results, so I’m happy with the outcome. Getting second place today was good. In the next two days, we need to stay focused, because anything can happen. We need to be careful and hold the Red Jersey safely all the way to the finish line. We’re going to Dubai with some nice memories from previous years and I’m super happy to go there again. I have a feeling they are like family there. They really respect me." | 
Stage 5 winner, Jonas VINGEGAARD (DEN/JUMBO-VISMA) | 
Race leader by 45s, Tadej POGAČAR (SLO/UAE TEAM EMIRATES) after his final test on his way to overall back-to-back wins |
Stage 6: Deira Island → Palm Jumeirah, 168 km Full Results and Report
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
Sam BENNETT (IRL/DECEUNINCK - QUICK-STEP) wins Stage 6 in 3:32:23, 2 Elia VIVIANI (ITA/COFIDIS), 3 Pascal ACKERMANN (GER/BORA - HANSGROHE), 4 David DEKKER (NED/JUMBO-VISMA), 5 Fernando GAVIRIA RENDON (COL/UAE TEAM EMIRATES), 6 Giacomo NIZZOLO (ITA/QHUBEKA ASSOS), 7 Kaden GROVES (AUS/BIKEEXCHANGE), 8 André GREIPEL (GER/ISRAEL START-UP NATION), 9 Cees BOL (NED/DSM), 10 Michael MØRKØV (DEN/DECEUNINCK - QUICK-STEP) | 
| 
| 
| 
|
Stage 7: Yas Mall → Abu Dhabi, 147 km Full Results and Report
| 
Fernando Gaviria is happy to finish this year's UAE Tour. If you recall he and several of his UAE Tour teammates tested positive for covid-19 around this team last year forcing the cancellation of the last two stages | 
Winner of two stages already at this year's UAE Tour, Sam BENNETT (IRL/DECEUNINCK - QUICK-STEP) had to settle for runner-up today in the final sprint finish | 
Start scene outside Yas Mall | 
Rollout for the 7th and final stage | 
| 
The peloton passing between a bank of flowers and a mosque | 
| 
Sprint finish as expected at Abu Dhabi Breakwater | 
Caleb EWAN (AUS/LOTTO SOUDAL) wins the final stage in 3:18:29 ahead of 2 Sam BENNETT (IRL/DECEUNINCK - QUICK-STEP), 3 Phil BAUHAUS (GER/BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS), 4 Michael MØRKØV (DEN/DECEUNINCK - QUICK-STEP), 5 Cees BOL (NED/DSM), 6 André GREIPEL (GER/ISRAEL START-UP NATION), 7 Andrea VENDRAME (ITA/AG2R CITROEN), 8 Luka MEZGEC (SLO/BIKEEXCHANGE), 9 Riccardo MINALI (ITA/INTERMARCHÉ - WANTY - GOBERT MATÉRIAUX), 10 Yevgeniy GIDICH (KAZ/ASTANA - PREMIER TECH) | 
| 
The stage winner Caleb Ewan commented: "We came here knowing that it was gonna be four sprints and we’ve done three. And, obviously, the first stage, I wasn’t there, the second stage I was there, but I had to do too much of an effort before the sprint to really be competitive. We had one more chance, today. And there’s been a lot of pressure on me from the team to get the victory here. I felt it today, but I tend to perform well under pressure and I’m happy I got a win today. I think I'm stronger now than I have ever been. My climbing should be better... my sprint is better. I have two grand tours in my legs now. I should be better than I was the previous year. This is also my first victory as a father of two. And seeing my family tonight will be really nice." | 
Your Stage 7 winner, Caleb EWAN (AUS/LOTTO SOUDAL) | 
Overall winner for the second year in a row, Tadej POGAČAR (SLO/UAE TEAM EMIRATES) by 35s: “I feel super amazing. It’s one of the best races, for sure, with a really good organization, super good fans and support. I worked really hard for this, it’s really amazing, we’re happy and proud. I feel so comfortable here in the UAE. Every time I come here it’s like I’m home. It’s hard to win this race, but everything is possible. We focused on this event and now we’ll take it step-by-step this season. We’ll do Tirreno and then take a rest. We go race by race. The UAE Tour is great for the beginning [of the season] and I enjoy it. Every single victory will stay in my heart and is special to me.” Speaking about his next races in Italy this year, he added: “My form is good. It depends on the day and the weather. But I think we're well prepared. It’s going to be hard though. There are a lot of good fighters competing against us. Strade Bianche is difficult, but I enjoy racing there. It’s one of the best for me. After Tirreno, I’ll do the classics, and prepare for the Tour [de France] and the nationals probably. I’ve got quite a busy schedule this year.” |
|
Email This • 
Mail This • 
Tweet • • 
• 
