Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jayco AlUla) was in fine form today when he sprinted in at the head of the peloton to claim victory at stage 4 of UAE Tour. The Dutch rider was too fast for runner-up Fernando Gaviria (Movistar Team) and Ireland's Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe), who took 3rd place.
Bennett was well out of the mix yesterday in the bunch gallop that settled stage 3 and while he did not win today, he put in the kind of performance that will give him some confidence ahead of tomorrow's penultimate stage; his last change to take a victory on this race.
Ryan Mullen put Danny van Poppel, with Bennett on his wheel, into position deep into the final kilometre today. And while Van Poppel hit the front at full speed, with Bennett second wheel, the Irishman hesitated a little and was passed on either side by both Groenewegen and Gaviria.
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Bennett also looked like he was slightly over-geared when he finally did kick. However, there was no arguing with the winner, who won it quite comfortably, and while cleverly keeping Gaviria pinned up against the barriers to the riders' left.
As well as his better effort in the final sprint, Bennett was also well placed when the main field split just inside the final 20 kilometres. He easily made the front group, which briefly gained around 25 seconds, as some of the other sprinters were caught napping.
As Bennett and his Bora-hansgrohe team were on the front, helping push the pace and split the field, even world champion and race leader Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), along with 2nd placed overall Luke Plapp (Ineos Grenadiers) were caught on the wrong side of the split.
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Stage 5 of @uae_tour 2023 promised another sprint showdown 💪
A flat stage through the desert to the coastal city of Umm al Quwain meant we were treated to a close finish with all the big sprinters involved 🔥
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🇦🇪 #UAETour pic.twitter.com/nv4p03llCE— Velon CC (@VelonCC) February 24, 2023
A change in direction of the road brought about a headwind that took the sting out of the front group. That coincided with some big turns from Evenepoel bringing the groups back together, leading the way for a bunch sprint into Umm al Quwain after 170km of racing.
And while Bennett's positioning was much better than 24 hours earlier - when he and lead-out man van Poppel got boxed in - Groenewegen came off Bennett's wheel today with about 250 metres to go and won in some style.
As well as Bennett placing 3rd, his Irish team mate, Mullen, finished in the main peloton. Tomorrow's stage, which should be another bunch sprint, is 166km to Abu Dhabi Breakwater before Sunday's finale, finishing on the Jebel Hafeet climb.
Evenepoel still leads overall and has an advantage of nine seconds over Plapp. Pello Bilbao is 3rd at 13 seconds and it was his Bahrain Victorious team that was pushing on most in the finale when Bilbao made the front group without Evenepoel and Plapp.
