PREVIEW | UAE Tour 2025 stage 6 - Milan and Merlier have won, will Jasper Philipsen win final bunch sprint of the race?
Cycling
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 6.
Stage 6 will be taking place in Abu Dhabi, where the 2016 World Championships were hosted. The stage, designed once again for the sprinters, will be very calm certainly but the finale ultra-fast. The world's fastest riders will be taking glory once again.
Stage 6: Abu Dhabi Cycle Club - Abu Dhabi Breakwater, 166.7 kilometers
The riders will have an impressive total of 176 climbing meters throughout the 166 kilometers, or in other terms, the climbing meters that are equivalent to an average hill anywhere in Europe. A very fast day through an urban environment means very high speeds, and with it comes tension.
However there won't be much fight for positioning, as the finale is not technical at all. The final corner comes with several kilometers to go, the finale at the Abu Dhabi Breakwater has some slight left and right-leaning bends but it will be all about timing the leadouts and launching the sprint at the right moment.
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The Weather
Map UAE Tour 2025 stage 6
Some northern breeze, but on this day it won't make much of an impact. There will be a headwind sprint however, so timing will be crucial for the final effort - launch too early and in the final meters you will be overtaken, which means the best leadout may not have the typical advantage.
The Favourites
The stage 5 sprint highlighted exactly how chaotic the race can be towards the finale, because the pan-flat stages mean everyone arrives fresh at the finale. Focusing on a big leadout means you can lose position, and this has been made clear by Jayco's work - they've had leadout man Luka Mezgec in perfect position, but Groenewegen both times failed to take the wheel. Lidl-Trek have truly thrived in this complicated environment and I expect them to be able to deliver Milan again in front.
Jonathan Milan - Simone Consonni - Edward Theuns - Daan Hoole
Sam Welsford - Danny van Poppel - Ryan Mullen
Tim Merlier - Bert van Lerberghe - Casper Pedersen
Jasper Philipsen - Jonas Rickaert - Robbe Ghys
But this time around the headwind sprint can change things quite a lot. Today you saw how Merlier and Matteo Malucelli came out of Milan's wheel to fight for the win, and this scenario is enhanced on the arrival to Abu Dhabi. Starting a couple wheels behind can actually be beneficial in this arrival, so the likes of Merlier and Philipsen who do not have a leadout that can compete with the others, can certainly take the win.
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Dylan Groenewegen - Luka Mezgec - Max Walscheid - Elmar Reinders
Arvid de Kleijn - Maikel Ziljaard
Fernando Gaviria crashed today so it will be hard for the Colombian to have the confidence and speed to fight for the victory on this day, and these chaotic arrivals will have hit the confidence of some. Oded Kogut, Dan McLay and Phil Bauhaus certainly will have the same or even more confidence, but alongside Gaviria we can safely argue that Gerben Thijssen or Picnic PostNL duo Fabio Jakobsen and Tobias Lund Andresen won't be too happy.
Prediction UAE Tour 2025 stage 6:
*** Tim Merlier, Jonathan Milan, Jasper Philipsen
** Arvid de Kleijn, Sam Welsford
* Dylan Groenewegen, Matteo Malucelli, Oded Kogut, Dan McLay, Phil Bauhaus, Gerben Thijssen, Fabio Jakobsen
** Arvid de Kleijn, Sam Welsford
* Dylan Groenewegen, Matteo Malucelli, Oded Kogut, Dan McLay, Phil Bauhaus, Gerben Thijssen, Fabio Jakobsen
Pick: Jasper Philipsen.
How: Sprint out of Milan's wheel.
Original: Rúben Silva
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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