Sam Bennett gave a very good account of himself but the videos, over head and head-on, suggest he wanted to start his sprinter a little earlier than he was able to.
Overhead video UAE Tour stage 5 sprint finish
Sam Bennett was forced to settle for 4th place on stage 5 of UAE Tour; the Irish sprinter in the middle of a very close run contest.
At the end of the 181km stage from Flag Island to Khor Fakkan it was Elia Viviani (Deceuninck-QuickStep) who came through late to win.
He was half a length ahead of the next three home; Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates), Marcel Kittel (Katusha-Alpecin) and Bennett.
The footage, below, shows Bennett’s path being blocked just a little. The Irish rider was apparently edging to get into clear road sooner to pull the trigger earlier than he was able to.
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“Today we made a plan and stuck by it. We did everything to the best of our abilities and that’s all we could do,” Sam Bennett said.
“I had the legs, the backing of the team, and a great position in the final. The level is so high and some very small things have a big impact.
“Unfortunately I didn’t get the win today. I’d like to thank the team for their efforts.”
Dan Martin (UAE Team Emirates) is 6th overall. He is 1:01 behind race leader Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma).
There are just two stages remaining; the final uphill finish tomorrow and one for the sprinters on Saturday.
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Fantastic bird’s eye view analysis of today’s Stage 5 finish @UAE_tour from @realstephens and @robhayles1 pic.twitter.com/CdB2j36ZsS
— FloBikes (@flobikes) February 28, 2019
Viviani gets the verdict on stage 5 of #UAETour over Gaviria, Kittel and Bennett pic.twitter.com/DJeu0IRt6o
— Sticky Bottle (@sticky_bottle) February 28, 2019
Ride along with @CalebEwan and his @Lotto_Soudal teammates on Stage 5 of the @uae_tour. More from the team coming up later in a behind the scenes special... pic.twitter.com/scyRTyLVbk
— Velon CC (@VelonCC) February 28, 2019
The sprinters lunge, but Viviani got his timing right and was also too fast for the others.
It was close enough between Gaviria, Bennett and Kittel but Viviani somehow got himself ahead very late in the gallop.
Roglic and his team have ridden a perfect race so far, with just tomorrow's big test to contend with.
The crowds haven't exactly been at capacity point but the racing has been exciting.
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