The Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, the winner after examining the photo-finish, removed the 5th stage of the Tour of the Emirates (UAE Tour) Thursday at Jebel Hafeet, two days after the success of the Briton Adam Yates on the same site in Abu Dhabi.
Third this time in the stage, Adam Yates (Mitchelton) kept the leader’s jersey two days before the end of the event.
Pogacar, who edged ahead of Kazakh Alexey Lutsenko to win the stage, took second place Tuesday but more than a minute behind Yates after the 10-kilometer climb.
“I had to throw my bike on the line to beat Lutsenko,” said the young Slovenian (21), third in Vuelta last year for his first year in the WorldTour.
“It’s like a home race for my team and for me too since I realized that supporters had come from Slovenia to support me here,” added Pogacar, a professional past year with the UAE team. Emirates.
“All I did was stay with the other guys and avoid the problems,” said Yates.
Behind the Briton, third at the same time as the winner, the Frenchman David Gaudu took fourth place at 4 seconds.
In the provisional general classification, Yates now counts 1 min 01 sec ahead of Pogacar, 1 min 33 sec on Lutsenko and 1 min 48 sec on Gaudu.
Friday, the 6th stage is primarily intended for sprinters on a flat route of 158 kilometers in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
“The next two stages are fairly flat but we will have to be careful with the wind,” said Yates, who is in an ideal position to win in the first race of his 2020 program.
