Team Jumbo – Visma flies to amazing victory

Dutch squad beats Team Sunweb by 7” in opening TTT

Al Hudayriat Island, Abu Dhabi, 24 February 2019 – Primoz Roglic took the lead in the inaugural UAE Tour as Team Jumbo – Visma won the opening team time trial at 57.086km/h, beating Team Sunweb by 7 seconds, even though Tom Dumoulin’s squad had the best intermediate time with an advantage of 2 seconds. In second place on the finishing line after Roglic, Laurens De Plus became the best young rider in his first race with Team Jumbo – Visma. Bahrain-Merida, the team of Vincenzo Nibali and Rohan Dennis, was placed third.

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UAE Tour Stage 1 Photo Gallery
UAE Tour Stage 1 Classifications
Promoz Roglic Flash Interview Audio File
UAE Tour Start List
UAE Tour Official Roadbook
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STAGE RESULT

1 – Team Jumbo – Visma, 16km in 16’49”, average speed 57.086km/h
2 – Team Sunweb at 7″
3 – Bahrain – Merida at 9″

JERSEYS

The Red Jersey, sponsored by the Emirates (General individual classification by time) – Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo – Visma)
The Green Jersey, sponsored by ADNOC (General individual classification by points) – Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo – Visma)
The White Jersey, sponsored by Nakheel (Best Young Rider born after 1 January 1994) – Laurens De Plus (Team Jumbo – Visma)
The Black Jersey, sponsored by Abu Dhabi Aviation (Intermediate Sprint Jersey Classification) – Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo – Visma)

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1 – Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo – Visma)
2 – Laurens De Plus (Team Jumbo – Visma) s.t.
3 – Jos Van Emden (Team Jumbo – Visma) s.t.

PRESS CONFERENCE

The Red Jersey, Primoz Roglic, said: “Looking at the names on paper, we came here with a strong team for the Team Time Trial but there were other strong teams in contention too so we still had to do the job. It was great to see all the guys giving 100%. It’s a really nice way to start the season and to realize how well we can do in a TTT. Team Sunweb was very close so we were quite nervous waiting for them to cross the line. It’s true that we are here with the goal of winning GC but it’s not done yet. The rivals we have here are pretty much the same we’ll have in other races later this year. The Giro d’Italia is my main goal but I just look at myself and try to be the best.”

The White Jersey, Laurens De Plus, said: “It was a dream and a goal to perform well in my first race with Jumbo-Wisma. We trained for this race all together in January already. It was hard to come straight from altitude training to the UAE Tour but it worked out very well. We had a super strong and well balanced team. At the end, Tony Martin did a very long pull and Tom Leezer rode the best kilometer of his life. We’re really happy! I’m the best young rider for now but our priority is to win the GC with Primoz [Roglic].”

TOMORROW’S STAGE

Stage 2 – SPECIAL OLYMPICS WORLD GAMES ABU DHABI STAGE – Yas Island-Abu Dhabi Breakwater – 184km
Raced around the streets of the city of Abu Dhabi, Stage 2 follows one of the classic Abu Dhabi Tour stages. Starting from Yas Mall, the first part of the route in the northeast part of the city heads towards Khalifa Port, where there is a U-turn on the pier. The riders return to the city along Channel Street and then they ride through from Yas Island to Saadiyat Island, past the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Corniche until the reaching the finish line at Abu Dhabi Breakwater for what is expected to be the first sprint of the race.

Final Km
The final 5km are all on wide roads with gentle semi-curves that lead to the final straight on tarmac.

TV COVERAGE

UAE Tour Stage 2 International TV Schedule available here.

UAE TOUR APP

Download the official UAE Tour App now and stay updated on the race, riders’ timings and all that’s happening during the race:

IOS: https://itunes.apple.com/ae/app/uae-tour/id1451821362?mt=8
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.rcs.uaetour

UAE TOUR PRESS ROOM

From the official online pressroom the media can download high resolution pictures of the race. In order to download the pictures, just go to http://pressroom.rcssport.it/ (username: press/ password: press), select “Media”, then “Cycling”, then UAE Tour. The photos are free of charge for editorial use, as long as both the UAE Tour and the photographer’s name is quoted.

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Photo Credit: LaPresse / Ferrari – Paolone