Lorena Wiebes wins opening stage of the UAE Tour

Lorena Wiebes has won the opening stage of the UAE Tour. In a long sprint in Madinat Zayed, the Dutch national champion proved to be the fastest by a clear margin. Last year, Wiebes won three stages in the UAE Tour. For Team SD Worx – Protime, this marks the first victory of the season.

“This is a fantastic way to start the season. Winning the first sprint of the year always gives extra motivation for the sprints that follow throughout the rest of the season. I knew this finish from two years ago and was aware it wouldn’t be an easy sprint. Precisely because it’s such a long straight, it becomes difficult to execute a good lead-out. We didn’t have our strongest sprint train here, so the plan was to start the sprint as early as possible.

Barbara Guarischi and I would then be left in the final few hundred metres and find our own way. I quickly noticed that UAE Team ADQ was well organised. I chose to follow the wheel of Lara Gillespie, which turned out to be a good decision. Still, it was a bit of a gamble which side to launch my sprint on. I chose the left. They could have boxed me in there, but fortunately I had just enough space to deliver my sprint.

Over the next two stages we will again try to set things up for a sprint. In the fourth stage we also have a strong contender in Anna van der Breggen on the uphill finish at Jebel Hafeet. There, we will of course ride for her.”