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Friday, February 23, 2024
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2023 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia
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Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, 2020: The Tour During Covid-19, Better Late Than Never is available in both Kindle eBook and Audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Current racing:
- February 19 - 25: UAE Tour
- February 22 - 25: O Gran Camiño
Upcoming racing:
- February 24: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
- February 24: Faun Ardeche Classic
- February 25: Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne
February 25: Faun-Drôme Classic
Latest completed racing:
- February 14 - 18: Volta ao Algarve
- February 17 - 18: Tour de Alpes-Maritimes
- February 14 - 18: Vuelta Andalucia - Ruta del Sol
- February 16: Classic Var
- February 10 - 14: Tour of Oman
- Feb 8 - 11: Tour de la Provence
- February 12: Clasica Jaén - Paraiso Interior
- February 11: Clasica de Almeria
- February 10: Vuelta a Murcia
We posted the race organizer's report with the results.
Here's the report from stage winner Tim Merlier's Team Soudal Quick-Step:
Tim Merlier became the first rider in the history of the UAE Tour to win the first two bunch sprints of an edition after he flew to victory in Dubai, which hosted the fourth stage of the race. It was another chaotic mass gallop Thursday afternoon, but that didn’t bother the two-time Belgian Champion, who was again excellently guided by his Soudal Quick-Step teammates, before finding the space needed to showcase his incredible speed.
Tim Merlier wins again. Photo: Getty Sport
The day was a quiet one until ten kilometers to go, when the many teams having a sprinter here began jostling for position. Ayco Bastiaens was responsible for keeping in check the gap of the two escapees from the start of the stage, while white jersey Ilan van Wilder and Mauri Vansevenant contributed to the pace setting in the closing kilometers of the stage.
Once the two peeled off the front inside five kilometers to go, Jordi Warlop and Bert Van Lerberghe hit the front, and their outstanding work meant that Tim was in a perfect position on the run-in to the finish after a tricky corner with 750 meters remaining and had the luxury of patiently waiting before opening his sprint.
It was the 31-year-old’s fourth win at the UAE Tour and 15th in the Soudal Quick-Step jersey, and Merlier couldn’t hide his happiness after this result: “Today was a slow pace the whole stage, but in the end it became hectic. The team put me in a good position, and I waited for the last 500 meters before deciding to change the speed and make my move. The wind came from the left side, so timing was very important. Getting two victories gives me a great feeling. I would love to add at least another one, and although I know it will be difficult, I am looking forward to the next two days.”
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And here's the report from 6th-place Fabio Jakobsen's Team dsm-firmenich-PostNL:
After yesterday’s first mountain test of this year’s UAE Tour, another opportunity for the sprinters was on the menu today. With just two riders on the road as the breakaway of the day, it was a relatively easy day for the riders of Team dsm-firmenich PostNL in the peloton, with the wind not being strong enough to cause any damage. The escapees were brought back early and the speed in the bunch picked up slowly ahead of the second chance for the fast men of the week. With eight kilometres to go, our sprint train made the move towards the front, holding good position entering the final three kilometres. In the chaotic final, Fabio Jakobsen sprinted to sixth place for the team.
The sprint
Jakobsen said: “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. 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.”
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We posted the report from stage winner Josh Tarling with the results.
Here's the report from Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Team Visma | Lease a Bike did not take any risks in the first stage of O Gran Camiño. In the wind-swept time trial in and around Torre de Hércules, the differences at the line did not count for the classification. Wilco Kelderman put in a strong performance by finishing sixth.
Josh Tarling was the day's fastest rider.
Like last year, the weather conditions seemed to be the game-changer of the first stage. The strong gusts of wind caused dangerous situations and forced the organization to make some modifications. It was decided that all riders had to do their time trial on their conventional road bikes and that the differences at the finish line would not count towards the classification.
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What remained was the battle for the stage win. Most of the Team Visma | Lease a Bike riders took it easy and took no risks ahead of the next few days. Kelderman was one of the few who went full speed ahead. He completed his race against the clock in 19:23 to finish sixth. Josh Tarling was the fastest with 18:21.
"I trained hard for it, so I wanted to hit the gas today. I felt good on the road and after my time trial I even got to be in the hot seat for a while. It is unfortunate that circumstances forced a halt to the race, but I am looking forward to the coming days," Kelderman said.
Sport director Frans Maassen thought it was a logical decision to adapt the stage. "Safety comes first, so I'm glad we all agreed. Of course it's unfortunate that we couldn't race at full speed, because it was a beautiful course. The most important thing was that everyone crossed the line safely, and that worked out."
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