From February 17th to 23rd, the UAE Tour 2025 will take place. It is the second World Tour stage-race of the year and will feature plenty of stars in the field of the sprinters and also climbers - headlined by Tadej Pogacar. We preview stage 5.
Stage 5 will be similar to the previous day, with no difficulties to point and another sprinter certain at the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University, the most technical finale of the race. The peloton will briefly go into the desert on this day so the chances of seeing splits exists, but it's an out-and-back course...
Stage 5: Dubai American University - Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University, 160.6 kilometers
The race organizers didn't pull too many strings when it came to making this a complex race. The finale will be flat, this one with two right-handers inside the final kilometers to string things out a bit. The final sprint will be in a regular road with no obstacles to bother the fast men.
Final kilometers
The Weather
Map UAE Tour 2025 stage 5
Again some meaningful northern wind. In some sections it can be treacherous, there will be tension, but the start and end of the stage will be in more urban settings where although there won't be many direction changes, the wind will often be covered and so I don't think there will be echelons this time around.
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The Favourites
As it would turn out, the insight into the leadouts proved very valuable. This afternoon Lidl-Trek and Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe went to the sprint head-to-head, and it seemed like a sprint where almost all of the contenders had their chance to fight for the win without being blocked - Arvid de Kleijn likely the biggest exception.
Sam Welsford - Danny van Poppel - Ryan Mullen
Jonathan Milan - Simone Consonni - Edward Theuns - Daan Hoole
So we have these two teams who did the best work, but with different outcomes, as Welsford completely cracked in the sprint - to be expected on hard days. But without echelons here, it would be easier and the Australian would stand a better chance. Despite being a chaotic flat finale, Milan delivered with the win, and unless Merlier or Philipsen start the sprint ahead of him (which is unlikely) we may see the same outcome on the day.
Tim Merlier - Bert van Lerberghe - Casper Pedersen
Jasper Philipsen - Jonas Rickaert - Robbe Ghys
Dylan Groenewegen - Luka Mezgec - Max Walscheid - Elmar Reinders
Arvid de Kleijn - Maikel Ziljaard
Fabio Jakobsen - Tobias Lund Andresen
Large leadouts can work against the sprinter, as was seen today with Jayco. They entered the final 1.5 kilometers with 5 riders and Groenewegen was so far back that he was swallowed by the peloton. Experienced leadouts had maximum two riders ahead of their sprinter. The three Dutchmen all stand a chance, although they will need a perfect day to be able to take a win here.
Dan McLay was fourth on stage 4, getting the opportunity to sprint for himself after Olav Kooij's abandon, and he thrives in these chaotic situations. Phil Bauhaus, Fernando Gaviria, Gerben Thijssen, Matteo Malucelli and Oded Kogut will also be names to watch.
Prediction UAE Tour 2025 stage 5:
*** Jonathan Milan, Tim Merlier, Jasper Philipsen
** Arvid de Kleijn, Dan McLay
* Sam Welsford, Dylan Gronewegen, Fabio Jakobsen, Phil Bauhaus, Fernando Gaviria, Gerben Thijssen, Matteo Malucelli
** Arvid de Kleijn, Dan McLay
* Sam Welsford, Dylan Gronewegen, Fabio Jakobsen, Phil Bauhaus, Fernando Gaviria, Gerben Thijssen, Matteo Malucelli
Pick: Jonathan Milan
How: Another regular bunch sprint.
Original: Rúben Silva
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The UAE Tour is now just days away, we sat down with some of the riders taking part to get their thoughts 💭 #UAETour @AbuDhabiSC@ihc__official@Mubadala@NakheelOfficial@aldar pic.twitter.com/m0S4ki4ob8
— UAE Tour Official (@uae_tour) February 13, 2025
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
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.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- exactly, he had an amazing season, but with these overstatements they don‘t do him good.Ketterechts08-11-2026
- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
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