Eddie Dunbar has ridden strongly on the first big climb of UAE Tour, finishing in 10th place on today’s stage 3 as Adam Yates proved untouchable.
Dunbar finished in a small group almost two minutes down
on the flying British climber and the Irish Team Ineos leader is now 10th in
the general classification with four stages remaining.
The early breakaway had been reeled in today just as the
riders reached the base of the 10.8km climb of Jebel Hafeet.
Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) stayed near the front of the
group as the peloton was trimmed back to about 20 riders within a few
kilometres.
And while several riders attacked on the lower slopes of the climb, once Yates went with 5.9km to the top he blew the race apart.
Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) and David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) went after Yates and rode with him for a period.
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But when Yates attacked again it was all over; he still
had a long way to go but his performance was as assured as it was impressive.
When it became clear Yates wasn’t fading Tadej Pogačar
(UAE Team Emirates) decided to attack the select group and go after Yates.
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However, it was too little too late and even a rider of
Pogačar’s standing was no match for Yates today.
He finished 1:03 ahead of Pogacar despite easing up before the finish line and taking some time to celebrate his victory.
After Pogacar in 2nd place came a group of three riders
some 1:30 down on the victorious Yates.
In that group were Lutsenko, Gaudu and Rafal Majka; the
Bora-hansgrohe man riding across from Dunbar’s group to the other two on the climb.
Dunbar finished in the first larger group on the road,
which crossed the line 1:56 down on the unbeatable Yates.
Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) led home that group from
Patrick Conrad (Bora-hansgrohe), Gorka Izagirre (Astana), Jesus Herrada
(Cofidis) and then Dunbar, who finished 10th.
Eddie Dunbar now occupies 10th position overall. He is
equal on time with those placed 6th to 11th in the
general standings; all 2:06 down on new race leader Yates.
Tomorrow’s stage should suit the sprinters before the
race goes back to Jebel Hafeet on Thursday.
More to follow.
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