Lorena Wiebes' highly-anticipated road racing debut with SD Worx fell apart in the closing crash-marred kilometres of stage 1 at the UAE Tour Women. The Dutchwoman was one of the multiple sprinters and GC contenders who hit the pavement on the chaotic run-in but remarkably remounted her bike and sprinted to second place at the Dubai Harbour.
"Of course, I am bummed about that crash because that always takes strength. I was brought perfectly but came up just that little bit short," Wiebes said.
There were hopes of echelon action in the crosswinds on the opening stage, but the wind wasn't strong enough to help open gaps for real. Instead, crashes dominated the race over wide roads through the Dubai cityscape, including two pile-ups in the final four kilometres.
Wiebes was one of the riders that went down with 3.8km to go but came back to the front with help from her new SD Worx teammates in time for the sprint, finishing runner-up behind her former teammate Charlotte Kool (Team DSM).
"A rider fell just in front of my front wheel. Dodging was impossible at that speed, so I was brought down. I don't think I've ever been back on my bike so quickly. A fall like that always takes energy. I also feel now that I fell, and it will be stiff tomorrow. The adrenaline might help me to still win a stage in the coming days," Wiebes said.
Tereza Neumanová (Liv Racing TeqFind) was involved in the same crash and also managed to get up quickly and return to the front, sprinting to sixth place in the end.
"I was involved in the crash at 4km from the finish. Luckily Thalita [De Jong} brought me back to the peloton, and I was still able to do a good sprint," said the Czech champion.
Other sprinters were not so lucky: Tamara Dronova, Thi That Nguyen (both Israel Premier Tech-Roland), Ilaria Sanguineti (Trek-Segafredo) and Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka (Canyon-SRAM) all saw their shots at a good sprint result disappear in the blink of an eye.
Emma Norsgaard's Movistar Team sprint train was also derailed by the last crash of the day, 2.7km from the finish.
"In the end, it was a super-messy sprint and also quite dangerous, and a big, big crash, so we were not in a position to sprint with Emma like planned. I tried to stay with the girls and in Emma's wheel, but then it crashed, and we all lost each other. It was just really, really messy," Norsgaard's teammate Liane Lippert recounted the final.
Lippert won the second intermediate sprint of the day, and the three bonus seconds gave her a slight advantage in the general classification. The German champion is now fourth overall heading into stage 2 on Friday.
Several climbers that had come to the UAE for the stage 3 mountain-top finish also had their race disrupted: Claire Steels (Israel Premier Tech-Roland), Esmee Peperkamp (Team DSM), Petra Stiasny (Fenix-Deceuninck), Pauliena Rooijakkers (Canyon-SRAM), Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) and Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ) all finished behind the peloton.
Longo Borghini and Persico were lucky, under the circumstances, as they went down in the last crash that was within the final three kilometres, so they did not lose time. The other four GC riders now have a 25-second deficit in GC.
Even before the final, there were a couple of crashes, often due to touches of wheels in crosswinds. Although many riders will be nursing bruises and road rash tonight, most escaped without serious injury. Matilde Bertolini (BePink) was the only rider who had to abandon the race after crashing very early in the stage and never regaining contact with the peloton.
UAE Tour Women is a sprint-heavy race with two more chances for a bunch kick - stage 2 from Al Dhafra Castle to Al Mirfa and stage 4 from Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy to Abu Dhabi Breakwater.
"I'm happy that the lead-out went well," Wiebes said of her SD Worx train. "That gives me a lot of confidence for the coming days. Tomorrow I will go full for the win."
