While Tadej Pogačar is known for his dominance in stage races, including three Tour de France victories, sprint finishes are not typically his forte. Yet, on the opening stage of the UAE Tour on Monday, the world champion found himself at the forefront of the sprint finish, alongside specialists like Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and stage winner Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek).
Though Pogačar is a renowned general classification rider, his performance in the bunch sprint surprised many. Despite being a fast finisher, he is not known for his sprinting abilities. However, the UAE Tour, sponsored by Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates XRG squad, offered a unique opportunity for the Slovenian to show his versatility.
The flat nature of the stage suggested a straightforward finish, but the tough finale caused the bunch sprint to become more selective. Alongside Pogačar, non-sprinters such as last year’s winner Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto), Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL), and Thomas Gloag (Visma-Lease a Bike) also finished in the top 11.
It was later revealed that Pogačar’s position near the front of the sprint was not purely a result of his individual talent but rather because he had originally planned to act as a leadout for teammate Juan Sebastián Molano. Unfortunately, Molano crashed and was unable to make the front, leaving Pogačar to carry out the leadout for the team in the chaos that followed. Despite the situation, Pogačar stayed on course and, in doing so, provided an unexpected leadout for the rest of the riders in the bunch sprint. He even touched wheels with Molano as the Colombian went down but chose to continue with the plan rather than dropping back.
Milan ultimately came out on top, securing the stage win and fending off Philipsen, who was later relegated for deviating from his line, as well as Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Tobias Lund Andresen (Picnic PostNL).
Post-race, Pogačar acknowledged the mishap with Molano but remained optimistic. “We were a bit unlucky with Sebas [Molano] crashing, and it didn’t go as planned in the end in the final,” Pogačar said. “But otherwise, we had good legs, we tried and it was a nice race.”
Reflecting on his early move, Pogačar added, “It looked like I was still stuck in my leadout idea because I went so early in the wind! If Molano wasn’t unlucky, I think it would have been something super beautiful.”
With the opening stage behind him, Pogačar is now focused on the upcoming time trial, which will serve as the first real test for both him and his general classification rivals. “I am looking forward to tomorrow, it’s going to be the first real long effort of the season,” he said. “The feeling is ok, there was a lot of work done in the winter and I hope it pays off tomorrow in the time trial.”
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