UAE Tour stage 6 - Live coverage

Hello and welcome to the Cyclingnews live coverage of stage 6 of the UAE Tour.

As we join the action and the Cyclingnews blimp takes height, the riders face a further flat 90km. 

The 180km stage visits different parts of Dubai today. It started at the Expo site, visits the Atlantis island after a loop through the city and then finishes back at the Expo site.   

We're expecting a rip-roaring sprint finish. It will be the fourth and final sprint before Saturday's mountain finish.

Yet again there is an early breakways packed with Gazprom riders as they look to secure the black jersey for Dmitry Strakhov. 

According to PCS, he has spent 450km of the 800km raced so far.

With no cross winds, the peloton has been happy for the attackers to stay up the road, with just a rider from Alpecin-Fenix, QuickStep and UAE leading the peloton to keep the gap under control.

The only climbs of the day are the highway bridges and fly overs. 

The steady pace gives the riders time to enjoy the Dubai skyline.

The six attackers jumped away as soon as the stage started. 

The peloton seems happy for them to stay away until both intermediate sprints are done, to avoid a fight amongst the GC riders for the bonus seconds.

The six attackers are: 

Dmitri Strachov, the wearer of the intermediate sprint jersey, two Gazprom teammates Mathias Vacek and Pavel Kotsjetkov, Johnatan Canaveral and Alessandro Tonelli of Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè and Frenchman Paul Lapeira from AG2R-Citroën.

The race is now passing down the seven-lane Sheikh Zayed Road. It is lined by skyscrapers. 

The many traffic lights are red but the race cruises through them.

The riders will soon reach the Dubai beach front.  

They will head out to the Atlantis for the final intermediate sprint and then return to the Expo for the finish.

With 65km to go, the gap to the break is 1:15. 

Jasper Philipsen is chasing a third sprint win today. He impressed yesterday.  

Click below to read our full stage report and see our photo gallery.

UAE Tour: Philipsen sprints to stage 5 victory

The fifth stage of the UAE Tour, as was the case with the opening two, figured to be another largely straightforward day for the sprinters, barring some dicing in the wind.

Tadej Pogačar in red after his victory on Jebel Jais on Wednesday, had an eventful stage despite the pan flat-profile seeming like a day he'd spend quietly in the peloton. He jumped into the 35 rider echelon that distanced Ineos Grenadiers and his overall rival Adam Yates, then fought with Jasper Philipsen for the intermediate sprint bonus seconds. 

He then had to chase to get back into the peloton after a late flat with 7km to go. 

"Not a reason to panic. It happens," Pogačar said after the finish, when just seven kilometres earlier he had to chase back on to a peloton in full flight following a rear wheel puncture at seven kilometres to go.

"I believe in Mikkel [Bjerg]. He brought me back and all the other guys, so it was a perfect team job again. So, I was not stressed at all," he added, dismissive of what from the outside at least, had looked like a high-stress situation.

Click below to read our story on Pogacar's day out.

Pogacar comes through crosswinds, a sprint, and a late puncture to extend UAE Tour lead

55km to race 

The peloton has increased the pace, with teams lined out across the road. 

They're preparing for the ride out to the Atlantis, when the sea breeze could be a problem.

The intermediate sprint comes with 44km to go.

The gap to the break remains at 1:40.

The riders will soon turn right and head out to the  Atlantis hotel on the edge of the spectacular Palm Jumeirah. 

The peloton can see the Atlantis hotel and will soon dive into the tunnel to cross to the island.

As expected, Strakhov won the intermediate sprint to extend his lead in the black jersey intermediate sprint competition. 

He has scored 16 points today but has little chance of beating Philipsen at the stage finish and so seems set to finish second in the green jersey competition. 

Of course that would all change if Philipsen fails to score points in the sprint.

35km to go

The riders surge out of the dark lights of the tunnel and back into the Dubai sunshine.

They face a fast 35km ride back to the Expo for the finish.

The gap to the break of six is 1:20.

The pace is increasing the peloton as QuickStep and Alpecin lead the chase of the six attackers.

The work of the QuickStep rider indicates Mark Cavendish will contest the sprint finish.  

The riders are about to leave the seafront skyline to head towards the Expo.

The six riders are refusing to give up their hopes of a stage victory.

The peloton has upped the pace but so has the attack. 

15km to go

Can the sprint teams bring the break back? 

Ineos have riders up front too but the peloton is not yet in sprint mode, with teams in formation.

The break could be caught in the very final kilometres.

8km to go

The peloton is still at 1:15.

Have they left it too late? 

Finally the pace increases as Bora help the chase. 

Gazprom have three riders in the attack and so they are going for it. 

5Km to go

The sprinters could have blown their chance today.

The peloton is riding 5km/h faster but it is perhaps not enough. 

3km to go

The peloton seems to have eased up. They have blown their chance.

These are the six up front. Who will win the stage? 

Dmitri Strachov and his Gazprom teammates Mathias Vacek and Pavel Kotsjetkov. 

Johnatan Canaveral and Alessandro Tonelli of Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè

Frenchman Paul Lapeira from AG2R-Citroën.

We could even see late attacks from the breakaway.

Last Km! 

The peloton have missed their chance.

The six are looking at each other. 

Don't blow it by riding slow guys! 

Sprint between the six!

Gazprom win it! 

The peloton finish 15 seconds behind. 

There is a crash in the peloton. 

Mathias Vacek is confirmed as the stage winner.

That's a big win for 19-year-old Mathias Vacek. It's a WorldTour win.

That was a surprise result but Mathias Vacek and Gazprom deserved it.

The sprinter and their teams left the chase too late and did too little.  

It will be an interesting de-brief in the sprinters' teams and the peloton as they discuss how they failed to catch the break by just 15 seconds. 

They missed a chance of another sprint victory.   

These are the top ten results:

This is the sprint to the line. 

Strakhov played a smart sprint, perhaps fooling his rivals that he was the protected rider. 

Instead Mathias Vacek kicked early and won. Strakhov also sprinted and finished third, scoring valuable points for the green points jersey. 

Philipsen won the sprint behind but was only sixth., scoring few points. 

This is a huge win for 19-year-old neo-pro Mathias Vacek.

He is riding his first World tour race as well.

Here is another shot of Mathias Vacek winning the sprint.  

The 180km stage toured the Dubai skyline.

These were the six winners today. They gave their all to make sure the break stayed away.

The peloton eased after visiting the Atlantis hotel on the Palm Jumeirah, allowing the break to stay away.

This is the bunch sprint but only for sixth place.

Philipsen won the sprint and so scored enough points to keep his green jersey.

Philipsen has 76 points but Strahkov has 69 points. 

Philipsen and Alpecin-Fernix will have to ensure Strahkov does not go in the breakaway on Saturday and so score enough points to snatch the lead.

That should spark an interesting early part ot the big mountain stage.

Strahkov has already done enough to win the intermediate sprints competition but could also take the green jersey. 

Click below to read our full stage report and to see the results and our growing photo gallery.

UAE Tour: Mathias Vacek wins stage 6 from the breakaway

Thanks for joining us for our live coverage from the UAE Tour.

We will also have full live coverage of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday, both the men's and the women's race. 

We will also have a full report and photo gallery from the UAE Tour.