Tim Merlier won the first stage of the UAE Tour after beating Arvid de Kleijn and Jakub Mareczko in the final sprint. The Soudal Quick-Step rider is the first leader of the race as he was in the 2023 edition.
After the race, still tired from the brutal effort he had to make in the final stretch to win, he told the key to his victory: following the wheel of Fernando Gaviria and Juan Sebastián Molano, who ran into the headwind. The Belgian took advantage of it to perfection to overtake them in the last meters and win with great superiority. This is what he told the official TV of the race:
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UAE Tour: Tim Merlier beats De Kleijn and Mareczko to win stage 1; massive crash marks final sprint
"Great win for me, it's always nice to win and more being the first WorldTour race of the year for me. I made the right decision following Gaviria and Molano to win," he said. "Gaviria and Molano sprinted into the headwind. It's tough here, it's almost all sprinters, so I'm happy to have been the first to win."
Avoiding the crash that took place behind him, the Belgian sprinter found himself in the perfect position somehow in what was a chaotic sprint, and had a powerful win to kick off his race in the UAE. It will be difficult to maintain the lead in tomorrow's time-trial, but the main goal of the race has already been accomplished.
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