Preview. After a brutal first day at the UAE Tour where crosswinds dealt a lot of chaos, Tim Merlier took the victory. Now on stage 2 there will be a team time-trial where the GC contenders and their teams will have an important challenge.
Stage two will see the riders race a team time-trial. In 17.2 kilometers at Khalifa Port, teams will face each other in a day where the overall classification will take relative importance. The race will fully be within the port's roads, going back and forth in the area. There will then be plenty of changes of direction, but with no technical or tight sections, as well as any gradients, it will be a day where the most organized teams will without a doubt benefit from.
Stage 2 (TTT): Khalifa Port - Khalifa Port, 17.2 kilometers
The Weather
UAE Tour 2023 stage 2 map
Moderately strong and consistent wind from the east. It won't make a meaningful difference since there are so many changes in direction. It will likely make for some more tension however between teammates.
The Favourites
Technique matters a lot in team time-trials, as does having powerhouse riders - not necessarily specialists against the clock. This can through some surprises, however the field here is not particularly strong when it comes to time-trialists. In 17 kilometers as much as 1 minute can be created between a strong and a more modest lineup, but most of the big teams should be within 30 seconds.
Soudal - Quick-Step - With Evenepoel leading there's no doubt that there will be pressure to perform. The team lacks another specialist but the likes of Josef Cerny and Mauro Schmid will be valuable, and the team features several leadout men and Tim Merlier who can perform for short periods of time.
INEOS Grenadiers - This is a team that's relatively well prepared for the effort. Luke Plapp, Ben Tulett and Joshua Tarling will be very important engines for the effort. Several of the riders are track experts and with no exception all riders can roll quite well. Plapp will benefit from this day greatly for the GC.
UAE Team Emirates - Mixed results in the TT's, but UAE seem to have good engines for the effort. McNulty and Bjerg will be strong. The question will be on what kind of day all Yates, Vine and Soler are - all can both put in a great performance or an underwhelming. It's perhaps the lineup that has focused the most on the GC and that is visible here.
The likes of Bahrain - Victorious, BORA - hansgrohe, EF Education-EasyPost and Team DSM also have some strong riders who will be able to boost the team's result, but the victory should be hard to reach.
Read also
Prediction UAE Tour 2023 stage 2:
*** INEOS Grenadiers, UAE Team Emirates
** Soudal - Quick-Step
* Bahrain - Victorious, BORA - hansgrohe, EF Education-EasyPost, Team DSM
** Soudal - Quick-Step
* Bahrain - Victorious, BORA - hansgrohe, EF Education-EasyPost, Team DSM
Pick: INEOS Grenadiers
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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- A mindset that reminds me of Tim Declerq. I loved watching that guy just pound away the kilometers, hours at the front, holding an entire breakaway in check on his own. Bjerg seems like a similar guy. Curling, the team sport.RidesHills04-11-2026
- He will be lol, but he can still win on the climbs hahaawp04-11-2026
- I would love to have his inconsistency. How many wins this year? 2 TdF stages, a WC, a Euro championship, San Sebastian, multiple wins early year. Monument podiums. I'd take it. I don't think he has a chance in the TdF, but he is still amazing.mij04-11-2026
- He's not going to win the TdF. Maybe if they make every single stage a TT he could win. But I still believe Tadej would just sharpen his TT skills and win.mij04-11-2026
- You beat me to it. Should he make a full recovery (likely) and go light early in the year. One, two, three. Don't ask me, I don't give a damn. Should he be on a Feel-Like-He's-Fixin'-to-Die High.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- The deciding factor may be the (TBD) number of (any type of) kilometers without Pogacar.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- Unexplained chronic fatigue is an all too common bitch. The hard to find definitive answer may lie buried in gut mechanisms. A mystery of the deep.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- It's weird to say Evenepoel would be making a "serious mistake by adding the 2027 Giro d'Italia to his calendar, warning that such a decision could even be interpreted as a lack of confidence in his ability to win the Tour de France." It may well be a mistake but with so many commentators (of all sorts) continuously claiming almost everything Remco does as being a mistake, almost nobody should care what the pundits and the disparagers should say. His team may not want him to do the Giro, and that matters. But it's possibly or probably up to Remco to decide and it may not have to be decided on until a month or so ahead of the race. Yes , Remco is inconsistent much like the majority of the best riders but he's enjoying a period of not having been recently injured (or sick). Whatever he does he need not be concerned with critics who will second guess any perceived failure no matter what. I suspect he will have enough other races on his schedule so he won't be considering it. But the worst reason to not race it is because of what some will say - humorous that be.Yepperoni04-11-2026
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And it’s Merlier 😅 @MerlierTim wins stage 1 of the #UAETour!
You tell us who won stage 1 of the #UAETour 😁
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