Elia Viviani admits the UAE has been a “lucky” hunting ground for him after the Italian rider edged out world champion Peter Sagan in a final bunch sprint to win the Abu Dhabi Tour stage two on Friday and takeover the red jersey from Andrea Guardini.
The Team Sky sprint specialist had also won the second stage of the Dubai Tour earlier this season, in February, and it seems the desert heat keeps bringing out the best in him.
– INTERVIEW: Tom Dumoulin on road to Grand Tour glory
– #360fit: Top tips to achieve your 10km personal best
– GALLERY: Stars out to showcase their wheel power in AD Tour
“It’s a lucky place for me. Sure it’s a different moment of the season but I’m lucky to do these races in top form because Dubai was only 10 days before the Track Worlds and Abu Dhabi is right after the World Championships,” said Viviani who is now also the holder of the green points classification jersey.
“I’m in really good form and I’m very strong in the sprint. I was disappointed for yesterday’s place. With this heat it’s difficult to work a lot in the front or close the gap to the breakaway and also take a good position for the team, especially that we’re only six riders. But today we did a really good job.”
Sagan crossed the finish line outside Yas Mall in second place with Fabio Sabatini claiming a consolation third for team Ettix-Quick-Step, who not only lost the leader’s jersey but saw their star rider Tom Boonen crash out, sustaining a head injury and briefly losing consciousness after a fall midway through the stage.
S2 highlights from the @Abu_Dhabi_Tour where @petosagan & @TeamSky‘s @eliaviviani were in the mix #AbuDhabiTour https://t.co/W4ccjCxfSC
— inCycle (@inCycleTV) October 9, 2015
After a challenging opening day in the desert, that saw temperatures rise above 50 degrees Celsius which prompted organisers to reduce the distance by 14.5km, the cyclists enjoyed a far less demanding stage two yesterday as they traversed 129km – starting from Yas Marina Circuit – past the city’s beaches and grandest landmarks.
Six riders – Paul Voss, Skydive Dubai’s Soufiane Haddi, Maxim Belkov, Alessandro Bazzana and Federico Zurlo – opened up a gap on the peloton early on and their lead was up to 2’13” 39km in, with the Astana boys leading the chase.
Haddi made the home team proud when he claimed the first intermediate sprint cruising past Yas Marina Circuit, at kilometre 54.8, edging out Belkov, Bazzana and Patten while Zurlo and Voss got into a fight which saw the latter get disqualified for an “act of violence among riders”.
As the peloton fell back 3’ behind the breakaway, a crash shook the pack on Sheikh Khalifa highway towards Saadiyat Island, around kilometre 60.
Ettix-Quick-Step’s Tom Boonen and MTN-Qhubeka’s Theo Bos both went down, the former seeing his race come to an end immediately while the latter abandoned the stage soon after.
Boonen lost consciousness for several seconds before he was helped up by medics, leaving a small pool of blood behind him on the asphalt.
The podium for today #RideToAbuDhabi @eliaviviani @petosagan and @tigerbaz pic.twitter.com/qLM7og36tx
— Abu Dhabi Tour (@Abu_Dhabi_Tour) October 9, 2015
Ettix-Quick-Step later released a statement with an update on Boonen’s condition that read: “Immediate hospital examination of Tom Boonen underlined a left temporal bone fracture. Boonen, who lost consciousness for a short moment immediately after the crash, is now conscious and lucid. He will remain in the hospital overnight under observation. Further examinations will be performed tomorrow.”
Haddi again battled for the intermediate sprint, this time claiming third behind Bazzana – whose efforts earned him the Black Jersey – by the Emirates Palace at km 91.3.
The Moroccan and Zurlo were caught up by the bunch shortly after. With 14km to go, another Skydive Dubai’s Rafaa Chtioui pulled ahead from the peloton and he found himself riding solo upfront before he was joined by Katusha’s Anton Vorobyev 8km later.
As riders approached the final kilometres, the bunch was strung out and it was Viviani who made his move at just the right moment to clip Sagan, Sabatini and the rest of the field.
Saturday’s Al Ain stage will see the riders trek 142km from Al Qattara Souk in Al Ain to the top of Jebel Hafeet at over 1,000m altitude. The third stage will finish with an 11km final climb with an average gradient of 7.5 per cent.
