"Quite warm in the desert... warmer than in the Netherlands" - Arvid De Kleijn reacts to impressive 2nd on opening stage of UAE Tour

Tudor Pro Cycling Team's Arvid De Kleijn impressed on the opening stage of the 2024 UAE Tour, taking a solid second place behind Tim Merlier.

“The day went quite well. It was less difficult than expected,” reflected the 29-year-old, who is competing in the race for the second time in his career, in his post-stage interview. “It was quite warm in the desert... warmer than in the Netherlands. That was quite a change."

The finale of the stage was marred by a big crash in the final few hundred metres but thankfully for De Kleijn, he managed to avert and potential disasters. "In the last five kilometers I stayed with my teammates. They tried to keep me out of the wind and they did a good job,” he explains.

“With 1.5 kilometers to go I only lost Maikel Zijlaard because I got stuck in the sandwich. I then had to find my own way and I succeeded. I was actually a bit too far on the right side of the road, but with 150 meters to go I saw an opening. I went for it and came pretty close, but not close enough to challenge Merlier.”