Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe) may have won the bunch sprint on stage 1 at UAE Tour today, but it wasn't for the victory as a breakaway stayed clear, with Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) taking the win and the race leader's jersey.
The photo finish between Merlier and Caleb Ewan (Lotto Dstny) was so tight it looked like it was a dead heat. However, the race jury awarded the win to Merlier, even though Ewan was convinced he had won and celebrated after crossing the line. Mark Cavendish (Astana-Qazaqstan) placed 3rd with Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) 4th.
The 151km stage from Al Dhafra Castle to Al Mirfa saw the winds blow and the main field split into several sections from early on before the first two groups on the road joined up. Irishman Bennett rode well in making that front group, of about 20 riders, with lead-out man Danny van Poppel.
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The two groups merged with about 50km to go - creating a bunch of about 70 riders. But when a 13-man breakaway went clear from it, with just under 30km remaining, Bennett was unfortunately absent.
Up front, some of the sprinters had made the cut with lead-out help, though it was world champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) who stepped up to drive the breakaway forward. Keen to gain time on his general classification rivals, Evenepoel did not shy away from doing far more than his fair share.
And that extra work by the young Belgian rider was a key factor in helping the group stay clear, though there were plenty of others up front also with a real interest in the breakaway's success.
Mark Cavendish was there with Cees Bol (Astana Qazaqstan Team) while Soudal-QuickStep had Evenepoel, Bert Van Lerberghe and Merlier. Bahrain Victorious had four in the move; Pello Bilbao, Matevž Govekar, Nikias Arndt and Phil Bauhaus. Luke Plapp was there for Ineos Grenadiers as was Olav Kooij for Jumbo Visma while Ewan had Lotto Dstny team mate Jarrad Drizners for company.
While the gap went to well over one minute in the final 10km it was back down to 51 seconds on the line, a great advantage for Evenepoel, Plapp and Bilbao to gain on the other general classification men on the first of seven days of racing.
More to come.
