Primoz Roglic wins the UAE Tour, Sam Bennett wins Stage 7

Primoz Roglic receives the UAE Tour Trophy from H.H. Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum

City Walk, Dubai, 2 March 2019 – The Slovenian rider Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo – Visma) has won the inaugural edition of the UAE Tour, ahead of Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) and David Gaudu (Groupama – FDJ) who completed the podium. The Irish rider Sam Bennett (Bora – Hansgrohe) has won the final Stage 7, the Dubai Stage, in a bunch sprint, beating Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) and Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal).

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1 – Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo – Visma)
2 – Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) at 31″
3 – David Gaudu (Groupama – FDJ) at 44″

JERSEYS

The Red Jersey, sponsored by Emirates (General individual classification by time) – Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo – Visma)
The Green Jersey, sponsored by ADNOC (General individual classification by points) – Elia Viviani (Deceuninck – Quick-Step)
The White Jersey, sponsored by Nakheel (Best Young Rider born after 1 January 1994) – David Gaudu (Groupama – FDJ)
The Black Jersey, sponsored by Abu Dhabi Aviation (Intermediate Sprint Jersey Classification) – Stepan Kuriyanov (Gazprom – RusVelo)

STAGE RESULT

1 – Sam Bennett (Bora – Hansgrohe) , 145km in 3h17’51”, average speed 43.972km/h
2 – Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) s.t.
3 – Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) s.t.

Speaking seconds after the stage finish, the UAE Tour winner Primoz Roglic said: “It was windy from the start but as a team we finished the job the same way we started. We showed again that we are a very strong team. It’s nice to have started with a Team Time Trial victory and kept the jersey till the end. As my first race of the year, it’s great to begin with a stage race victory. Results show that we’re ready for a promising season.”

The stage winner Sam Bennett said: “I needed that. The team did a fantastic job again. I tried to fight for Gaviria’s wheel. Today I had the legs to finish it off. I knew if you could get a win here with all the top sprinters, it means you are not so bad. This is good for my confidence. I’m looking forward to the other nice races coming up.”

Press conference interviews and further details to follow.

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Photo Credit: LaPresse / Ferrari – Paolone