Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) lived up to his status as favourite for stage 1 of the AlUla Tour when he powered out of the splintering remnants of an 18-rider lead group to snatch the opening day’s victory.
Second on the largely flat 158km stage starting and finishing at the AlUla Camel Cup track, with Milan Fretin (Cofidis), with Matteo Moschetti (Pinarello-Q36.5) in third.
How it unfolded
A four-rider break comprising Mohammed Al-Wahibi (Oman) and his teammate and Omani National Champion Said Alrahbi, Ali Al Shaikhahmed (Saudi Arabia) and multiple Malaysian TT National Champion Muhammad Nur Aiman Bin Rosli (Terengganu Cycling Team) opened up an initial gap of nearly four minutes, before the bunch, visibly rooting for a sprint, began to react. With a fast rise in impetus in the main pack, it came as no surprise that, some 65km from the line, the last survivor of the break, Al Shaikhahmed, was reeled in.
Shortly after a crash involving Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Joris Delbove (TotalEnergies) and two other riders, forcing the Swiss pro into a very long, ultimately successful chase by UAE, echelons formed on the extremely exposed, flat desert roads.
The most dangerous of these, an 18-rider group that quickly gained nearly 40 seconds, contained multiple top sprinters, including 2020…
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