26/02/2023

Remco Evenepoel wins UAE Tour as Adam Yates takes Jebel Hafeet victory

Adam Yates promised spectacle at Jebel Hafeet and he delivered as he won the queen stage of the UAE Tour, but Remco Evenepoel defended himself and has conquered the overall classification.

The queen stage had some wind but it was a calm day in the peloton. Pan-flat all the way into the final clim, five riders dared to go up the road: Michel Hessmann (Jumbo-Visma), Jaakko Hanninen (AG2R Citroën Team), Maurice Ballerstedt (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Ignatas Konovalovas (Groupama - FDJ) and Sam Welsford (Team DSM). The group was never dangerous for the stage win, with the riders quickly splitting at the bottom of Jebel Hafeet with the gap of still just under three minutes.

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UAE Team Emirates had a clear plan as they began pushing the pace right from the base of the climb, with Adam Yates still dreaming of a GC win. The acceleration was aggressive and with six kilometers to go as the GC group completely broke off Yates attacked the race, with Remco Evenepoel and Sepp Kuss responding. Pello Bilbao and Luke Plapp became the chasing group as the last breakaway survivors were caught.

The pace did not slow down at all after the initial attack however as Evenepoel took over the responsibility and dropped Kuss, who was quickly reeled in by Bilbao who had dropped Plapp. Geoffrey Bouchard popped out from behind later, bridging across all the way into the Bilbao group - who was later dropped.

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The fight for the stage win was decided with 3 kilometers to go as Adam Yates cast his second attack, with Evenepoel unable to respond. The Briton soared to victory on his terrain, with Remco Evenepoel crossing the line shortly after in satisfaction as well. With this he has conquered the overall classification as Pello Bilbao and Luke Plapp struggled.

Geoffrey Bouchard sprinted to third beating Kuss, with the other two having arrived right after. Evenepoel, Plapp and Yates made up the final podium as the Briton overcame Pello Bilbao by just 3 seconds.