Cyclingflash
Jonathan Milan scores back-to-back wins in UAE Tour stage five

Jonathan Milan scores back-to-back wins in UAE Tour stage five

Jonathan Milan won the fifth stage of the UAE Tour. The Italian from Lidl-Trek was the fastest in the bunch sprint. Norwegian Erland Blikra of Uno-X took second place, while Matteo Malucceli from XDS Astana finished third.

The route of the fifth stage looked tailor-made for the sprinters. The 166-kilometer stage between Al Mamzar Corniche and Dubai featured no categorized climbs and very little elevation gain. All the ingredients for a royal sprint were therefore present.

In the first fifteen kilometers, several riders tried to form the breakaway, but the day’s escape was eventually formed about 150 kilometers from the finish by Silvan Dillier (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Gianni Moscon (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Nickolas Zukowsky (Pinarello Q36.5), and Ezra Claudell (Modern Adventure). However, Claudell dropped back not long after, leaving a trio in front.

Sprint teams control the breakaway
In the opening phase, three riders were also involved in a crash, including Casper van Uden (Picnic-PostNL) and Kevin Vermaerke (UAE Emirates XRG). The Dutchman went to the medical car but was able to continue. The remainder of the stage unfolded as expected: sprint teams controlled the peloton while the three escapees were allowed to stay ahead with a gap hovering around one minute.

With about twenty kilometers to go, the peloton grew increasingly nervous, causing the breakaway’s advantage to shrink rapidly. With fifteen kilometers remaining, it was all hands on deck when UAE Emirates XRG launched an attack on the front, but it quickly became clear this effort wouldn’t succeed. The breakaway’s lead had been reduced to 20 seconds by this push.

Milan fastest again
The pace then eased off in the peloton, allowing the trio up front to extend their gap again. With six kilometers left, they had almost 40 seconds on the peloton. This prompted Jayco AlUla and NSN to ramp up the speed, swiftly reducing the gap. Just over five kilometers to go, Zuckowski decided to go solo. Dillier soon dropped off, but Moscon managed to join his breakaway companion. However, it was clear they wouldn’t hold on.

With three kilometers to the finish, the escapees were caught definitively, and the peloton prepared for a sprint. Milan had to come from far back entering the final kilometer but managed to carve a way forward. It was Ethan Vernon of NSN who launched the sprint first. Milan came around him and held off his rivals, scoring his second consecutive stage win in the UAE Tour. Blikra was the surprise runner-up, with Malucceli finishing third. Antonio Tiberi remains the overall leader.

Milan’s reaction
Milan was pleased with his second stage win in a row. “It was very nice to take my second stage victory. The last corner was important, but I was still quite far back. My teammates controlled the race well. In the finale, it was difficult to stay together, but they helped me a lot. It was a great way to win. You have to find a way to get it done, and you can’t wait for others to sprint. Tomorrow is a mountain stage, so that’s not really for me, but the final stage is another chance for sprinters. Then we’ll try again,” said the sprinter.