Stage 5 of the UAE Tour delivered a lot of action with an unusual Tadej Pogacar breakaway on a pan-flat day, but the sprinters ended up fighting for glory on the day and it was none other than Tim Merlier who won in a finale that has seen a lot of drama.
The stage started out just about as crazy as one could expect, as after a breakaway of seven riders formed itself featuring Intermarché's Kobe Goossens, two riders from the Bardiani team and a whole four from the Vini Fantini team. It was a wild group of riders and they were joined by four more including none other than race leader Tadej Pogacar who set himself up for mission impossible. Pogacar, teammate Domen Novak, defending champion Lennert van Eetvelt and INEOS' Victor Langellotti attacked from the peloton and bridged across to the breakaway, forming a group of 11 riders.
It was an amusing move which lit up the action on the day, but the peloton chased hard right from the gun and never allowed the gap to grow over two minutes. In total, both Pogacar and van Eetvelt collected three seconds in bonifications over the two intermediate sprints, but the pan-flat profile and many teams commiting to a chase meant that the effort wouldn't be rewarding the attackers further.
The breakaway was then actually caught with a whole 39 kilometers to go. Racing calmed down then, but the peloton accelerated once again towards the final and a crash just outside the final 3 kilometers proved to be a disaster for some as the likes of Pablo Castrillo, Felix Gall, Carlos Rodríguez and Paul Seixas hit the deck at high speed and have lost time as a consequence.
Another crash happened in the final corner at high speed, taking out even more men from contention. Luka Mezgec launched an early sprint and actually threatened the fast men... Lidl-Trek managed to get a perfect leadout for Jonathan Milan but this time around Tim Merlier managed to time his move perfectly, and the European Champion took the triumph he had been looking for. Milan was third as Astana sprinter Matteo Malucelli sprinted to second on the day. Merlier himself also crashed after the finish line.
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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.
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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)...
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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