Viviani wins stage 2 of the Dubai Tour
Italian wins after crash-affected finish
Elia Viviani added to a very successful day for team Sky with victory on a crash-effected second stage of the Dubai Tour. Sacha Modolo (Lampre-Merida) claimed second with Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) rounding out the podium. Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) and Marcel Kittel (Etixx-QuickStep) were put out of contention after a crash in the final kilometre leaving it to a small group to duke it out.
Viviani looked untouchable in the reduced bunch sprint after a strong leadout from Ben Swift. It the Italian’s first victory of the season after being beaten by the smallest of margins on the final stage of the Tour de San Luis, by his own leadout man Jakub Mareczko. That defeat had elicited an unusually strong reaction from Viviani, who refused to attend the podium ceremony
“I would have preferred to win last week in San Luis but I finished second and third there a few times but it is perfect to start the season well here. It’s really the same as the last years because I won my first race here in La Palma last year. Maybe it is a lucky race for me here,” Viviani said after the stage.
“Today we did a perfect leadout, yesterday we had some faults and we went too early and I was alone in the last kilometre. I needed to do a long sprint and I’m not competitive enough to beat some of the best sprinters this year. If I do the first sprint for position, then I lose any chance of winning the sprint for victory. Today we perfected some movements and Andy Fenn and Swift did a perfect leadout for me. We came out of the tunnel really fast in the first positions. Andy and Swifty took me to 200 metres to go and I have to say thanks to the team for a perfect job. “
A crash at the mouth of a tunnel with a kilometre remaining all but ended the hopes of the pre-stage favourites, Cavendish and Kittel. The crash appeared to be sparked by a touch of wheels with a Trek-Segafredo rider going down. While Cavendish was able to fight back into the leading group, the efforts showed and he came home in 10th. Kittel didn’t have such luck and rolled in well down on the group.
Viviani’s victory made him the new race leader with Kittel keeping second place, due to the crash being inside the three-kilometre mark.
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How it happened
The second stage of the Dubai Tour began in the surroundings of the Dubai International Marine Club. The day would be five kilometres shorter than had been billed in the roadbook with roadworks forcing the late change. Kittel looked relaxed in the blue of the leader’s jersey after taking an emphatic victory on the opening day of the race.
Polish rider Marcin Bialoblocki kicked off the action with an attack after just five kilometres of racing. He was soon joined by Silvan Dillier (BMC), Koen de Kort (Giant-Alpecin) and Francisco Mancebo (Skydive Dubai) to form the four-man group that would spend most of the day out front. The quartet was allowed to hang out front, but was never given much rope and their maximum advantage extended to just over two minutes.
Bialoblocki made the most of his time out ahead of the bunch by taking the intermediate sprints ensuring his place in a classification jersey for stage 3.
Behind the four leaders, the peloton took a slightly more relaxed approach to the day riding a marginally slower average speed of 44kph compared to stage one. The team of race leader Kittel, Etixx-QuickStep was ever-present on the front of the bunch assuming full control of proceedings. Cavendish’s Dimension Data team were happy to let the Belgian squad do most of the work but sent Songezo Jim up to ensure some sort of presence at the front.
With just over 20 kilometres to go, the strain began to show on the escapees and Bialoblocki put in a small dig to test his companions. After an attempt to get away much earlier in the day, Mancebo attacked with 15 kilometres to go to make him the last man in the break standing as his fellow escapees were brought back in by the peloton. Mancebo would finally have to accept defeat with just over 10 kilometres to go.
Going into the final 10 kilometres, Bialoblocki didn’t renege on his team duties despite having spent the day in the break and helped pull along a One Pro Cycling train at the head of the peloton. As the group sped along the seafront, all of the key teams had riders at the front preparing themselves for the inevitable bunch sprint on the Palm Jumeirah. Bradley Wiggins doesn’t have any personal ambitions but he made a brief appearance on the front with two kilometres to go before pulling off and rolling home.
A crash near the exit of the tunnel with just over a kilometre to go disrupted the sprint and appeared to effect Kittel and Cavendish. Team Sky managed to avoid the incident and delivered Viviani to the line perfectly, with Modolo chasing in his wheel for second place.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Elia Viviani (Ita) Team Sky | 4:07:39 |
2 | Sacha Modolo (Ita) Lampre - Merida | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
3 | Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
4 | Andrea Guardini (Ita) Astana Pro Team | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
5 | Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Al Nasr Pro Cycling Team-Dubai | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
6 | Ben Swift (GBr) Team Sky | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
7 | Michal Kolar (Svk) Tinkoff Team | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
8 | Grzegorz Stepniak (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
9 | Chris Opie (GBr) ONE Pro Cycling | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
10 | Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
11 | Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 10 - Cell 2 |
12 | Andrea Palini (Ita) Skydive Dubai Pro Cycling Team - Al Ahli Club | Row 11 - Cell 2 |
13 | Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
14 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team | Row 13 - Cell 2 |
15 | Yanto Barker (GBr) ONE Pro Cycling | Row 14 - Cell 2 |
16 | Christopher Latham (GBr) Team Wiggins | Row 15 - Cell 2 |
17 | Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
18 | Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
19 | Silvan Dillier (Swi) BMC Racing Team | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
20 | Luca Wackermann (Ita) Al Nasr Pro Cycling Team-Dubai | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
21 | Loic Vliegen (Bel) BMC Racing Team | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
22 | Marcel Kittel (Ger) Etixx - Quick-Step | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
23 | Daniele Bennati (Ita) Tinkoff Team | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
24 | Matteo Trentin (Ita) Etixx - Quick-Step | Row 23 - Cell 2 |
25 | Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team | Row 24 - Cell 2 |
26 | Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Astana Pro Team | Row 25 - Cell 2 |
27 | Tom Bohli (Swi) BMC Racing Team | Row 26 - Cell 2 |
28 | Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre - Merida | Row 27 - Cell 2 |
29 | Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 28 - Cell 2 |
30 | Andrew Fenn (GBr) Team Sky | Row 29 - Cell 2 |
31 | Tomasz Kiendys (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | Row 30 - Cell 2 |
32 | Nikolas Maes (Bel) Etixx - Quick-Step | Row 31 - Cell 2 |
33 | Michael Gogl (Aut) Tinkoff Team | Row 32 - Cell 2 |
34 | Adrian Honkisz (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | Row 33 - Cell 2 |
35 | Davide Rebellin (Ita) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
36 | Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Lampre - Merida | Row 35 - Cell 2 |
37 | Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin | Row 36 - Cell 2 |
38 | Bert De Backer (Bel) Team Giant-Alpecin | Row 37 - Cell 2 |
39 | Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin | Row 38 - Cell 2 |
40 | Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Astana Pro Team | Row 39 - Cell 2 |
41 | Michal Golas (Pol) Team Sky | Row 40 - Cell 2 |
42 | Jan Polanc (Slo) Lampre - Merida | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
43 | David Lozano Riba (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 42 - Cell 2 |
44 | Manuel Senni (Ita) BMC Racing Team | Row 43 - Cell 2 |
45 | Nicolas Lefrancois (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
46 | Jesus Alberto Rubio (UAE) Al Nasr Pro Cycling Team-Dubai | Row 45 - Cell 2 |
47 | Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
48 | Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team | Row 47 - Cell 2 |
49 | Jaroslaw Marycz (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | Row 48 - Cell 2 |
50 | Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 49 - Cell 2 |
51 | Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Etixx - Quick-Step | Row 50 - Cell 2 |
52 | Nick Dougall (RSA) Dimension Data | Row 51 - Cell 2 |
53 | Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky | Row 52 - Cell 2 |
54 | Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team | Row 53 - Cell 2 |
55 | Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | Row 54 - Cell 2 |
56 | Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 55 - Cell 2 |
57 | Soufiane Haddi (Mar) Skydive Dubai Pro Cycling Team - Al Ahli Club | Row 56 - Cell 2 |
58 | Yousif Mirza (UAE) Al Nasr Pro Cycling Team-Dubai | Row 57 - Cell 2 |
59 | Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
60 | Sebastian Lander (Den) ONE Pro Cycling | Row 59 - Cell 2 |
61 | Juraj Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff Team | Row 60 - Cell 2 |
62 | Erik Baska (Svk) Tinkoff Team | Row 61 - Cell 2 |
63 | Branislau Samoilau (Blr) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | Row 62 - Cell 2 |
64 | Adrian Kurek (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | Row 63 - Cell 2 |
65 | Simone Ponzi (Ita) CCC Sprandi Polkowice | Row 64 - Cell 2 |
66 | Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo | Row 65 - Cell 2 |
67 | Caleb Fairly (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin | Row 66 - Cell 2 |
68 | Daniil Fominykh (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | Row 67 - Cell 2 |
69 | Manuele Boaro (Ita) Tinkoff Team | Row 68 - Cell 2 |
70 | Daniel Patten (GBr) Team Wiggins | Row 69 - Cell 2 |
71 | Peter Williams (GBr) ONE Pro Cycling | Row 70 - Cell 2 |
72 | Marcin Bialoblocki (Pol) ONE Pro Cycling | Row 71 - Cell 2 |
73 | Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) BMC Racing Team | Row 72 - Cell 2 |
74 | Simone Petilli (Ita) Lampre - Merida | Row 73 - Cell 2 |
75 | Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar Team | Row 74 - Cell 2 |
76 | Sindre Skjoestad Lunke (Nor) Team Giant-Alpecin | Row 75 - Cell 2 |
77 | Valerio Conti (Ita) Lampre - Merida | Row 76 - Cell 2 |
78 | Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Trek-Segafredo | Row 77 - Cell 2 |
79 | Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) Dimension Data | Row 78 - Cell 2 |
80 | Natnael Berhane (Eri) Dimension Data | Row 79 - Cell 2 |
81 | Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 80 - Cell 2 |
82 | Hayden Mccormick (NZl) ONE Pro Cycling | Row 81 - Cell 2 |
83 | Ibrahim Al Ali (UAE) Skydive Dubai Pro Cycling Team - Al Ahli Club | Row 82 - Cell 2 |
84 | Stephen Clancy (Irl) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 83 - Cell 2 |
85 | Chun Kai Feng (Tpe) Lampre - Merida | Row 84 - Cell 2 |
86 | Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre - Merida | Row 85 - Cell 2 |
87 | Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data | Row 86 - Cell 2 |
88 | Andrew Tennant (GBr) Team Wiggins | Row 87 - Cell 2 |
89 | Ivan Santaromita (Swi) Skydive Dubai Pro Cycling Team - Al Ahli Club | Row 88 - Cell 2 |
90 | Kamberaj Xhuliano (Alb) Skydive Dubai Pro Cycling Team - Al Ahli Club | Row 89 - Cell 2 |
91 | Amael Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team | Row 90 - Cell 2 |
92 | Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Trek-Segafredo | Row 91 - Cell 2 |
93 | Adil Jelloul (Mar) Skydive Dubai Pro Cycling Team - Al Ahli Club | 0:01:12 |
94 | Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Dimension Data | Row 93 - Cell 2 |
95 | Lars Boom (Ned) Astana Pro Team | Row 94 - Cell 2 |
96 | Stijn Devolder (Bel) Trek-Segafredo | Row 95 - Cell 2 |
97 | Javier Megias Leal (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk | Row 96 - Cell 2 |
98 | Ahmed Almansouri (UAE) Al Nasr Pro Cycling Team-Dubai | Row 97 - Cell 2 |
99 |