UAE Tour: Van der Poel wins Stage 1

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) has won Stage 1, the ADNOC Stage, of the third edition of the UAE Tour.

The Dutch rider finished ahead of David Dekker (Jumbo-Visma) and Michael Mørkøv (Deceuninck – Quick-Step).

Van der Poel is now the leader of the General Classification and has been awarded the Red Jersey and the Green Jersey.

The 176 km leg started at Al Dhafra Castle and finished at Al Mirfa. The stage was characterized by strong winds that split the peloton into several groups.

João Almeida (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) won the stage’s two intermediate sprints and gained a 6” time bonus by doing so. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) sprinted to second place in the second intermediate sprint, gaining a 2” time bonus.

STAGE RESULT
1 – Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix), 176km in 3h45’47”, average speed 46.770km/h
2 – David Dekker (Jumbo-Visma) s.t.
3 – Michael Mørkøv (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) s.t.

JERSEYS
The Red Jersey (General individual classification by time) – Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix)
The Green Jersey (General individual classification by points) – Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix)
The White Jersey (Best Young Rider born after 1 January 1996) – David Dekker (Jumbo-Visma)
The Black Jersey (Intermediate Sprint Jersey Classification) – João Almeida (Deceuninck – Quick-Step)

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 – Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix)
2 – David Dekker (Jumbo-Visma) at 4″
3 – Michael Mørkøv (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) at 6″
4 – João Almeida (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) at 7″
5 – Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) at 8″