Dubai Tour: Colbrelli takes victory at Hatta Dam

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Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida) came out on top in a nail-biting finish to win stage 4 of the Dubai Tour atop Hatta Dam. The Italian used his team perfectly before sprinting to the top of the climb ahead of Magnus Cort (Astana) and Timo Roosen (LottoNL-Jumbo).

The finish saw the peloton overhaul lone leader Brandon McNulty (Rally Cycling) with just a few hundred meters to go. The 19-year-old was the last man standing from the day’s break and looked to be heading for an incredible victory before he finally cracked on the climb to the line. The American lost almost 45 seconds on the last incline, with Colbrelli taking his first win of the season. 

Overnight leader Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) finished with the main field and retained his lead with one stage remaining. Cort sits second overall at two seconds, with Colbrelli up to third, four seconds down on Viviani’s lead.

"I think it is not the finish," Viviani said at the line. "I only have two seconds on Cort Nielson, and you’ve seen how strong he is. I think that it is going to be an interesting day tomorrow. We have a strong team, we saw today with what Niki [Terpstra] and Lampy [Yves Lampaert] did in the last bit to close the breakaway. I’m happy with the result because the goal was to defend the jersey and be there.

“I can’t do more than this. I can’t really stay with Colbrelli," Viviani said. "When he went, I felt the legs get tight and I just tried to arrive and not give a gap in the middle of the riders. Cort Nielson is really close but we have the guys to control. The good thing is that Cav and Kittel are not really close. We can control it tomorrow. I think I have the team to do that and I just have to do my best sprint. It is another chance to win a stage."

After three sprint finishes, Rally Cycling took the race by the scruff of the neck and almost stunned the WorldTour teams. They sent two riders up the road in the early break, with time trial talent McNulty joined by teammate Robin Carpenter, Conor Dunne (Aqua Blue Sport), Christopher Williams (Novo Nordisk), Sun Xiaolong (Mitchelton-BikeExchange) and Simone Bevilacqua (Willier-Triestina).

The leaders enjoyed an advantage of more than four minutes before the peloton awoke, but as the kilometres ticked by it was clear that the break was more than holding its own.

With 25 kilometres remaining, the break still held three minutes over the chasing pack, with Astana and Quick-Step Floors swapping responsibility at the head of affairs.

Up ahead, the break began to shed riders, with the Rally pairing joined by Dunne as the intensity and pressure increased. The trio remained intact until the race turned off the highway and onto the undulating roads that pointed towards the Dam.

Carpenter threw down one final long lung-busting turn before dropping his shoulders and sitting up, but McNulty and Dunne pressed on. The duo was clearly thriving on the knowledge that the WorldTour teams had given them too much rope, and panic began to creep in as Astana sent riders up the road to try and provoke a more earnest chase.

With 15 kilometres to go, the two leaders had 2:24 but on another slight incline, Dunne was forced to concede. That left just 19-year-old McNulty out in front, and for almost all of those final 12 kilometres the youngster made the impossible seem possible. With a background in time trialling, he pushed on, cutting through corners, powering through straight, and even managing the odd grimace-cum-smile for the television cameras.

At the top of the penultimate climb before race towards the Hatta Dam, Mark Christian rallied for Aqua Blue with a late solo bid but he was shut down by Quick-Step. Bahrain Merida, who had been relatively quiet until that point, then took control and with McNulty starting to struggle at the foot of the last climb, and with stretches of 17 per cent still to come, Colbrelli’s team could smell blood.

As McNulty came into view, a number of riders used the American as their reference point to open their uphill sprint, but there was no stopping Colbrelli, who has consistently been in the top 10 this week. He came through the pack and held off the late challenge from Cort and surprise package Roosen.

Colbrelli revealed afterwards that he had to go early due to a mechanical issue. "I really wanted to win today because the team has been working for me since day one. I was close yesterday. Today, again, Bahrain-Merida has done a great job. I launched the sprint from very far out because I had a mechanical and I was stuck on the 53," he explained. "I couldn't wait for this race to end. The last 50 metres looked to me like an infinity. This victory means a lot for my team and is very important for my morale. Even without being the favorites, we raced as a team like leaders."

The Italian now has an outside chance of claiming victory on the final stage but Viviani’s form on the flat makes him the favourite. As for McNulty, a finishing place within the peloton is scant consolation for such a brave performance, but for such a young rider he impressed immensely. His time will surely come.

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