Abu Dhabi Tour: Viviani wins stage 2

Elia Viviani (Team Sky) continued his storming 2015 form with an eighth win of the season on stage 2 of the Abu Dhabi Tour, where he is now the race leader.

The Italian locked onto the wheel of Peter Sagan as the sprint was opened up at the end of the 129km pan-flat stage, and he came round to get the better of the new world champion. Fabio Sabatini took third after becoming Etixx-QuickStep's new go-to man when Tom Boonen crashed out of the race after 55km. 

Astana did much of the work in the peloton for stage 1 winner and race leader Andrea Guardini, but the Italian was nowhere to be seen in the final kilometre. 

"I know in this final of the season I have really good condition," said Viviani before a trip to the podium to collect the red and green jerseys for leader of the overall and points classifications.

"Yesterday we were disappointed because we worked all day and lost position on the last corner. I did a good sprint but from 30 positions back. Today we decided not to work as much, to save energy because we have a lot of climbers for tomorrow. If I was to have two leadout guys we needed to stay on wheels. When I saw 3km I needed to do a good effort to take Sagan’s wheel. When Sagan opened his sprint I say ‘ok, now I need to pass him, not wait’. I know I have good power at the end of this season. I am really really happy to take another win this season."

The route from the Yas Marina, which looped out to the Zayed Sport City Stadium and then out to the Emirates Palace before finishing on the Yas Mall, could not have been flatter.

That didn’t stop six riders breaking away; Paul Voss (Bora-Argon18), Soufiane Haddi (Skydive Dubai), Belkov (Katusha), Daniel Patten (Wiggins), Alessandro Bazzana (UnitedHealthcare) and Federico Zurlo (UnitedHealthcare) all went clear but never gained much more than two minutes. With temperatures mercifully cooler than on yesterday’s shortened stage, the pace was electric as Astana set the tempo in the peloton.

The first intermediate sprint, back at the Yas Marina, proved to be something of a flashpoint. Voss was unceremoniously bumped into the kerb by Zurlo, and was soon disqualified – for an as yet unknown reason – as he dropped back to the bunch. It was there also that Boonen’s race and season came to a premature end. The Belgian came down heavily on his left side after colliding with Theo Bos and Songezo Jim of MTN-Qhubeka and was taken away in an ambulance for checks.

The five remaining breakaway members ploughed on along the straight, wide motorway roads that lined the coast. With Vincenzo Nibali and Astana on the front of the bunch, things were very much under control, and Haddi and Zurlo gave up from the break with 35km to go.

As they approached the final 10 kilometres there were attacks in the break and the peloton, Patten putting in a short-lived dig up front, while Anton Vorobyev (Katusha) and Rafaa Chtioui (Skydive Dubai) went up the road behind.

Things came back together with 2.5km to go, whereupon BMC, Tinkoff-Saxo and Etixx took it up. After a sweeping left-hander Daniele Bennati led out and Sagan soon came round but Viviani opened up too and simply had too much power. A first win in the rainbow bands will have to wait.

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