Groenewegen wins Dubai Tour's opening stage

Published February 6, 2018 08:55AM

DUBAI (AFP) — Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) won the opening stage of the Dubai Tour Tuesday and earned the leader’s blue jersey.

Groenewegen edged Magnus Cort Nielsen (Astana) and Elia Viviani (Quick Step-Floors) in a finish-line sprint in the opening stage of the race’s fifth edition.

“Quick-Step made it a very hard sprint by setting a high speed from far out, but I launched my sprint with 200m to go,” said Groenewegen. “It was very tight at the end but went in my favor. It feels good to win my first stage this year, especially with the high level of sprinters who are here.”

The 167-kilometer route traveled around Dubai, situated on the Persian Gulf, and finished on Palm Jumeirah, an artificial island that’s shaped like a palm tree.

Three riders broke away from the peloton early and they were quickly joined by two others. The group kept the peloton at bay for much of the race.

The break’s last two survivors, Andrew Fenn (Aqua Blue Sport) and Charles Planet (Novo Nordisk), were caught about 10km from the finish line.

Groenewegen leads Nielsen by 4 seconds and has a 6-second advantage over Viviani in the overall standings.

Wednesday’s stage 2 will travel 190km on flat roads from Dubai to Ras Al Khaimah.

Top-10, stage 1

1. Dylan Groenewegen, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, in 3:51:35

2. Magnus Cort Nielsen, ASTANA PRO TEAM, s.t.

3. Elia Viviani, QUICK – STEP FLOORS, s.t.

4. Alexander Kristoff, UAE TEAM EMIRATES, s.t.

5. Nacer Bouhanni, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, s.t.

6. Jacob Hennessy, MITCHELTON – BIKEEXCHANGE, s.t.

7. Eric Young, RALLY CYCLING, s.t.

8. Sonny Colbrelli, BAHRAIN – MERIDA, s.t.

9. Andrea Peron, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, s.t.

10. Loïc Vliegen, BMC RACING TEAM, s.t.

Top-10 overall

1. Dylan Groenewegen, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, in 3:51:25

2. Magnus Cort Nielsen, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :04

3. Elia Viviani, QUICK – STEP FLOORS, at :06

4. Nathan Van Hooydonck, BMC RACING TEAM, at :07

5. Alexander Kristoff, UAE TEAM EMIRATES, at :10

6. Nacer Bouhanni, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, s.t.

7. Jacob Hennessy, MITCHELTON – BIKEEXCHANGE, s.t.

8. Eric Young, RALLY CYCLING, s.t.

9. Sonny Colbrelli, BAHRAIN – MERIDA, s.t.

10. Andrea Peron, TEAM NOVO NORDISK, s.t.