Caleb Ewan held off Sam Bennett on the ferocious final ascent of Hatta Dam to clinch victory on stage two of the UAE Tour.
The Australian, who finished second on stage one, will wear the leader’s red jersey heading into Tuesday’s gruelling third stage to Jebel Hafeet.
Here are three takeaways and observations from day two.
EWAN CONTINUES SIZZLING FORM
The Bowral native won for the second consecutive year at Hatta Dam to make it three victories for the season.
Ewan made it look so easy as he sprinted up the 17 per cent gradient to pass Bennett, who ran out of legs with 50 metres remaining.
Bennett rode a strong finale but Ewan broke superbly to keep it going right to the line, to finish two seconds ahead of the Irishman with Arnaud Demare in third.
If the year so far is anything to go by, then Ewan might be the quickest sprinter on tour.
The 25-year-old recorded two stage wins at the Tour Down Under last month, demonstrating an enormous turn of pace late on.
In 2019, he brought his race craft to another level, winning ten races, including five grand tour stages, three of which were at the Tour de France.
A class act.
Second consecutive win @CalebEwan on Hatta Dam. #UAETour Congrats Caleb! pic.twitter.com/LxCQE3jaxd
— Lotto Soudal (@Lotto_Soudal) February 24, 2020
FROOME WATCH
The Briton was all smiles again on day two, exchanging conversation with a number of different riders during the stage.
The four-time Tour de France winner sat in the midst of the peloton and at one point was pushing hard at the head of the group, in the service of his Team Ineos colleagues.
With seven kilometres to go, he couldn’t spare the pace and scaled back to his own comfortable speed before crossing the finish line in 111th place, 3 minutes 51 seconds behind stage winner Ewan.
The 34-year-old must be patient in his recovery as he attempts to build his strength back from effectively zero since recovering from a career-threatening crash last June.
Tuesday’s stage will be another test of his mettle, a 184km ride from Al Qudra to the soaring Jebel Hafeet.
BEAUTY OF HATTA
Stage two brought the riders through Hatta and the Hajar Mountains until reaching the finish line at the stunning Hatta Dam.
The 168km stage showed plenty of the UAE’s beauty, however the final section of the race was the most spectacular, with the crystal blue water in the Dam.
The UAE Tour’s uniqueness as a course is matched by its beauty as a location. If the riders have any breath left by the time they reach the top of the summit at Jebel Hafeet on Tuesday, it’s surely taken away by the view of the crisp mountains.
And it’s that type of individuality that helps the UAE Tour earn its seminal place in the cycling calendar.
