Pogačar takes home win at UAE Tour

Tadej Pogačar took a significant win on home soil for UAE Team Emirates on stage 5 of the UAE Tour from Al Ain to Jebel Hafeet (162k).

Pogačar was first to attack with 4.5km to go, which reduced the group to six of the top placed riders. It would later come down to a battle between the top four with Pogačar and race leader Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) marking each other closely. Pogačar played it smart, marking Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) in the sprint before coming around him in the dash for the line.

His teammate, Davide Formolo, who was key in setting up the victory finished just behind in 6th place. Pogačar remains second in the overall and wears the white jersey as the leader of the young rider classification.

Stage 6 tomorrow will see the race return to the flat as the riders go from Al Ruwais to Al Mirfa (158k) which will be the last showdown for the sprinters.

Pogačar : “It was an amazing win. On the climb I tried to attack over five times but I saw Yates was strong so I played it smart and waited for the sprint. I started the sprint quite early because I knew the last corner was crucial. We took the corner side by side but I kept fighting and pushing until the line. I saw the gap in the last metres and I threw the bike and won in the end. The whole team worked perfectly today. This was my first big goal of the year and a home win for the team is really incredible.”

Stage 5 results
1.Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) 3h48’53’’
2.Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) +0’’
3.Adam Yates (Mitchelton Scott) +0’’

General Classification after stage 5
1.Adam Yates (Mitchelton Scott) 20h35’04’’
2.Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) +1’01’’
3. Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) +1’33’’