Coming into the UAE Tour, the sprint team to beat on paper were Bora-Hansgrohe. They had dominated the sprints at the Tour Down Under, the first WorldTour race of the season, and the trio of sprinters Sam Welsford, Ryan Mullen and Danny van Poppel were firing on all cylinders.
Two sprint stages in and it’s not exactly gone to plan. Stage 1 saw Mullen hit the deck hard in the large pileup and Welsford got disconnected from the lead-out pair, only managing fifth in the final sprint.
Today’s fourth stage only went worse with Welsford and Van Poppel involved in the crash 2.6km from the finish and unable to contest. Such a talented train will get it right eventually, and they hoped that will come in either or both of the next two stages, but it has clearly been dissatisfying.
“Sam [Welsford], Danny [van Poppel] and Filip [Maciejuk] were held up by the crash. After that, they had no chance to make it to the front anymore,” said Sports Director Bernie Eisel on the team’s social media.
“It's disappointing, but we're also relieved that they're fine. We'll keep trying and hopefully have a little more luck on our side.”
Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) has proved to be the sprinter to beat at the UAE Tour, taking his fourth stage win at the race in just his second appearance. He’s claimed dominant sprint wins in both stages 1 and 4, kicking away from his rivals with unmatched power.
His former teammate Fabio Jakobsen, who now rides for DSM-Firmenich PostNL, is one of the riders who has faltered behind the brutally strong Belgian, only managing fourth and sixth in the flat finishes.
The Dutch fast man can be forgiven with a completely new leadout and due to the fact he’s on debut at these hectic UAE Tour sprints with several teams furiously fighting for position. But the Tour de France stage winner is pleased with the new train’s performances so far.
“Today was another fast sprint. I was in the mix after the boys kept me in front nicely until the final corner and I could do a good sprint,” said Jakobsen in a team statement.
“It was not good enough in the end to compete for the win, but I am really happy with the support of the team. We are here to win, but with the sprinters at this race and while we get used to each other properly, this is still a good result.
“We are positive and motivated as we have still two more chances for a sprint and I am confident we can do even better than today.”
Alongside Merlier, the most consistent sprinter has been Arvid de Kleijn for Tudor Pro Cycling, with the Dutchman also staying patient in the two chaotic finishes so far. Other sprinters including Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) and Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla) haven’t managed a top 15 yet in either sprint stage.
Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike) tried his luck with an early move today, but Merlier jumped onto his wheel and kicked out of his slipstream in the final 150 metres, with De Kleijn also rounding his compatriot and forcing him to settle for third.
“I decided to start my sprint pretty early because I felt I had the momentum,” Kooij said in a team statement. “However, at that point, it was still quite far to the finish line, so unfortunately despite my lead, I couldn't hold on until the end.”
Will anyone dethrone Merlier, or can the Belgian make it four from four in the UAE? Stage 5 to Umm Al Quwain and stage 6 to Abu Dhabi Breakwater provide the perfect chance to find out.
