‘I blew the legs, that’s the whole point of the all-out effort’ – Tadej Pogačar loses out to TT specialists but gains time on UAE Tour rivals

Tadej Pogačar may have lost out to the time trial specialists on stage 2 of the UAE Tour but he built a small lead over his rivals for the general classification and moved up to third overall ahead of Wednesday’s summit finish up Jebel Jais.

The Slovenian was one of the earliest riders to set off at 13:12 on Al Hudayriyat Island, keen to take advantage of the favourable early conditions, with wind and surprisingly some rain awaiting those who started later.