Remco Evenepoel kept his powder dry in the ascent to Jebel Jais, but putting the power down in the final sprint to the line was enough to take over the race lead as rode to second place on stage 3 of the UAE Tour.
“We came first, first and second in the last stages. Now we also have the leader's jersey. That's just good. The leader's jersey is a nice reward for the team," Evenepoel said at the end of the day. As Luke Plapp failed to grab bonifications, Evenepoel's 6 seconds at the line saw him take over the race lead.
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It was a calm day in the peloton, and in the final ascent it wasn't too different. The shallow gradients saw none of the big favourites for the race make a move, with Einer Rubio jumping clear halfway up the climb to take the win. Evenepoel's teammates looked to push the pace hard up the final kilometers, but damage could not be done.
“Of course it is a pity that we came so close to the winner. The climb should have been one and a half kilometers longer, but Einer did a great job and gave himself a nice birthday present," the World Champion continued. In the final sprint he showed a lot of comfort and easily outsprinted the competition. He sets off for stage 4 in the red jersey.
“They took good care of me today. A number of teammates were still unlucky on the climb, so that I delivered so well in the last kilometer says something about how strong we are," Evenepoel concluded with great happiness over Soudal - Quick-Step, who aim at a fourth successful day tomorrow.
Races that @EvenepoelRemco has led since turning pro: Tour of Belgium 🇧🇪 Vuelta a San Juan 🇦🇷 Volta ao Algarve 🇵🇹 Tour de Pologne 🇵🇱 Vuelta a Burgos 🇪🇸 Danmark Rundt 🇩🇰 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 🇪🇸 Itzulia Basque Country 🇪🇸 Tour of Norway 🇳🇴 Vuelta a España 🇪🇸 UAE Tour 🇦🇪
