As expected, the sprinters once again came into their own on stage 5 of the UAE Tour 2024. After two stage wins in the first two bunch sprints by Tim Merlier (Soudal - Quick Step), the Belgian was narrowly beaten this time by Olav Kooij (Visma | Lease a Bike). Third place went to Sam Welsford (Bora-Hansgrohe).
UAE Tour 2024: Finish photo creates certainty on stage 5
The Dutchman Kooij started his sprint from the rear wheel of Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan Team), which meant he had the slightly shorter route compared to Merlier, who had to take a small detour, and won just ahead of the Belgian. Neither of them were sure who had won at first. The finish photo clarified things a little later.
"I thought I might be a bit too far back, but then I was able to catch the rear wheel of Mark Cavendish on the right-hand side of the road. There was a small gap that I was able to ride through." - Olav Kooij in the official winner interview.
The best German was Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) in sixth place. Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) defended his lead in the overall standings, with only one change in the top 10.
UAE Tour 2024 - Results: The top 10 of stage 5
- Olav Kooij (Visma | Lease a Bike) 4:08:38
- Tim Merlier (Soudal - Quick Step) +0:00
- Sam Welsford (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:00
- Simone Consonni (Lidl-Trek) +0:00
- Milan Fretin (Cofidis) +0:00
- Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) +0:00
- Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jayco-AlUla) +0:00
- Tim van Dijke (Visma | Lease a Bike) +0:00
- Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) +0:00
- Fabio Jakobsen (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) +0:00
How the 5th stage of the UAE Tour 2024 went
A trio of breakaway riders initially dominated the longest stage of the UAE Tour 2024 (182 kilometres): Jacopo Mosca (Lidl-Trek), Lennert van Eetvelt (Lotto-Dstny) and Harm Vanhoucke (Lotto-Dstny) made common cause. Their maximum lead was around five minutes. The three riders did not have much chance of success. However, Van Eetvelt's goal was not to win the stage anyway. He was after the bonus seconds at the intermediate sprints along the way, which helped him to move up from 13th place overall to ninth.
The two Lotto riders dropped back into the peloton after the second intermediate sprint around 58 kilometres before the finish. Mosca's breakaway attempt ended 41 kilometres before the finish. Subsequently, several attempts to form a wind gap failed in the finale.
Mark Cavendish as a launch pad for Olav Kooij
The sprinters' trains formed up on the five kilometre long finishing straight. The Astana team took the sprint for Mark Cavendish, but the Briton was too early in the wind and broke off his sprint. Olav Kooij took off from his rear wheel. The Dutchman crossed the finish line just ahead of Tim Merlier, who came in at high speed on the left side of the road.
Kooij and Merlier looked at each other in the finish area, initially not knowing who had won. After crossing the finish line, Merlier also pointed to his rear tyre, which had probably lost some air. After a brief moment of waiting, it was clear after the finish photo was analysed: Kooij had crossed the finish line just ahead of Merlier.
It was the second win of the season for the Visma | Lease a Bike pro after his success at the Clasica de Almeria. With second place, Merlier takes the lead in the points classification from Mark Stewart (Team Corratec - Vini-Fantini).
