"I remain confident in my chances" - Tim Merlier not intimidated despite another display of overwhelming strength by Jonathan Milan

It's always on the seemingly easiest days of UAE Tour that hell often breaks loose. The fourth stage proved to be exactly one of such days. On the first sight, the 180-kilometer stage from Fujairah to Umm al Quwain wouldn't excite many fans, but that's when the notorious crosswinds came into play.

The peloton got split up multiple times during the stage and Soudal - Quick-Step, as a team known to be formidable echelon fighters never missed a beat, perfectly protecting their sprint leader Tim Merlier. The European champion was never put in the wind, but still couldn't execute the job in Umm al Quwain, settling for second place behind unstoppable train called Jonathan Milan.

"It was a hard day with echelons twice, but I was there each time and the team did a great job. I was in a quite good position as we approached the line, but I just missed a bit of slipstream in the final 500 meters. We’ll see what we can do in the next two flat stages here, as I remain confident in my chances," said Tim at the finish.