UAE Tour Women 2024: Wiebes leaves the competition no chance at the start
Sebastian Lindner
· 08.02.2024
In the absence of Charlotte Kool (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), who was taken ill at short notice, Wiebes, who was once again optimally pulled into the sprint by her team, had little trouble putting almost two bike lengths between herself and the runner-up. Kool's representative Rachele Babieri finished in second place, with Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ) in third.
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"It's a great feeling to be at the top again in the very first race," said Wiebes in the winner's interview. "There was a bit of chaos in the final, but the team still delivered me perfectly." The 24-year-old Dutchwoman, who was beaten by Kool in the same place last year, also takes the overall lead. "That puts a little more pressure on us tomorrow, but we're ready for it," said Wiebes after her 72nd victory at UCI level.
The wind, which tends to play a role in the desert, held back on the first section, but could then ensure a race on the windy edge tomorrow and thwart the expectations of a second bunch sprint.
UAE Tour Women 2024 - Results: The top 10 of stage 1
- Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx - Protime) 2:59:11
- Rachele Barbieri (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) +0:00
- Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ) +0:00
- Georgia Baker (Liv AlUla Jayco) +0:00
- Maggie Coles-Lyster (Roland) +0:00
- Valentine Fortin (Cofidis) +0:00
- Laura Ruiz Perez (Movistar) +0:00
- Sofia Collinelli (Roland) +0:00
- Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx - Protime) +0:00
- Clara Copponi (Lidl-Trek) +0:00
The overall standings after stage 1
- Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx - Protime) 2:59:11
- Rachele Barbieri (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) +0:04
- Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ) +0:06
- Yanina Kuskova (Tashkent City Women Professional Cycling Team) +0:07
- Alice Palazzo (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo) +0:07
- Gaia Segato (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo) +0:08
- Loes Adegeest (FDJ-Suez) +0:08
- Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx - Protime) +0:09
- Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ) +0:09
- Georgia Baker (Liv AlUla Jayco) +0:10
How the 1st stage of the UAE Tour Women 2024 went
A pleasant 23 degrees and plenty of sunshine saw 114 riders start the UAE Tour. One more was registered, but Elynor Bäckstedt (Lidl-Trek) was missing at the start line in Dubai. Those who did set off stayed together for a relatively long time before anything happened. After around 50 of the 122 kilometres, Alice Palazzi (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo) had had enough and pulled out a lead of just under a minute.
Nevertheless, she didn't get too far, and after around 16 kilometres she was caught again. However, it was enough to win the first intermediate sprint. In the meantime, there was a mass crash in the peloton. Around ten riders, including last year's winner Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek), were affected, but none suffered more serious injuries. After a bike change, the Italian was also back in the peloton.
After a few kilometres with a closed peloton, Yanina Kusova (Tashkent City Women Professional Cycling Team) broke away first. She didn't get far before Gaia Segato (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo) was alone at the front as a soloist. But Kusova tried again and managed to get ahead of Segato. For a short time, they both pulled out a lead of more than a minute, but then just managed to make it through the second intermediate sprint 29 kilometres before the finish, which Kusova won.
Schrempf causes unrest in the final
For the rest of the day, the peloton rode back towards Dubai at a leisurely pace. Nevertheless, there was another mass crash 13 kilometres before the finish. Silvia Zanardi (Human Powered Health) was again among the casualties, as was Emma Norsgaard (Movistar). But once again everyone was able to continue.
The sprint trains formed up over the last ten kilometres, sometimes even using their shoulders. Carina Schrempf (Fenix-Deceuninck) then caused trouble again. The Austrian attacked two and a half kilometres before the end, but only made it as far as the entrance to the finishing straight. The last 600 metres were against the wind. Wiebes had no serious competition there, driven by world champion Lotte Kopecky.
