UAE Tour: Adam Yates wins atop Jebel Hafeet

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Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) seized control of the UAE Tour after he soloed to victory on the summit finish at Jebel Hafeet on stage 3. The Briton finished 1:03 clear of pre-race favourite Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) to claim an empathic stage victory and move into the red jersey of race leader.

Yates began his onslaught with six kilometres of the climb remaining, when he jumped away from a reduced leading group with only Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) and David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) for company. He then proceeded to kick clear of his two companions with five kilometres remaining and never faltered thereafter.

The professional peloton has been tackling the climb of Jebel Hafeet since 2015, but the margin of victory on the ascent had never previously exceeded 17 seconds. Yates, however, was in a class of his own on Tuesday, and not even the on-form Pogacar – so dominant at the recent Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana – could match his rhythm on the upper reaches of the climb.

Pogacar didn’t react to Yates’ initial acceleration but the Slovenian ripped clear of the chasing group with five kilometres remaining, bridging across swiftly to Lutsenko and Gaudu. He later rid himself of that duo, but he was unable to even keep pace with Yates in the closing kilometres, far less reduce the deficit. He was 40 seconds behind Yates with three kilometres to go and ultimately crossed the line over a minute down on the British Mitchelton-Scott rider.

“It's my first race of the season, so it's difficult to know how everyone's going. I just really wanted to test my legs and see where I am, so I attacked maybe a little too early, but in the end I felt good,” Yates said after taking possession of the red jersey.

Lutsenko won the sprint for third on the stage ahead of Gaudu and Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe), some 1:30 down on Yates, while the remnants of the group of favourites, including Eddie Dunbar (Ineos), Patrick Konrad (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Wilco Kelderman (Sunweb), crossed the line almost two minutes back.

The damage caused by Yates’ acceleration was considerable. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), twice a winner of Jebel Hafeet, was dropped shortly after the Briton surged clear, and he eventually reached the summit over 2:30 down, and out of the hunt for overall victory.

Yates now holds a lead of 1:07 over Pogacar in the overall standings, while Lutsenko, who recently denied reports that he had been coached by the banned Dr. Michele Ferrari, lies third at 1:35.

Pogacar perhaps rued his decision not to follow Yates from the outset here, but he recognised that the Mitchelton-Scott man was the strongest rider on the climb. 

“Maybe I could follow for longer but for sure he would have won because he was stronger. But maybe the gap wouldn’t have been so much,” Pogacar said afterwards.

He will have a chance for revenge on stage 5, which also finishes atop Jebel Hafeet, though, on this evidence, Yates will surely be favoured to carry the red jersey all the way to the finish. 

“For sure, I will try but I think he is really in good shape. I will do everything to attack him,” Pogacar said.

How it unfolded

Stage 3 of the UAE Tour was always going to be decided by the 10km final haul up Jebel Hafeet, but that did not discourage a quartet of attackers forging ahead in the opening part of the stage. In temperatures touching 35°C, Jasper De Buyst (Lotto Soudal), Victor Campenaerts (NTT Pro Cycling), Umberto Marengo (Vini Zabù-KTM) and Stijn Steels (Deceuninck-QuickStep) managed to establish a lead of 7 minutes but that buffer gradually melted as the afternoon wore on.

Mitchelton-Scott joined UAE Team Emirates and Trek-Segafredo in setting the tempo at the head of the peloton, and the escapees were duly captured just as the road reared upwards with 10.8km remaining.

There was little surprise when Chris Froome (Team Ineos), in his first race since his heavy crash at the 2019 Critérium du Dauphiné, was among the riders distanced on the lower slopes of the ascent, but the overall rate of attrition in the front group was notably higher than in some previous visits to the climb.

CCC Team’s Jan Hirt set the pace early on for Ilnur Zarkin, before their teammate Victor de la Parte danced clear with 7.5km remaining. Merhawi Kudus (Astana) attempted to bridge across, but neither man gained much of an advantage over the 30 or so riders still in contention at that point.

The complexion of the race changed utterly with six kilometres to go, when Yates unleashed his vicious acceleration.

Lutsenko and Gaudu did well to match his initial pace, while the group behind splintered into shards, but their resistance had its limits. Five kilometres from the top, Yates was alone at the head of the race. Pogacar’s anticipated response followed soon afterwards, but the Briton was not to be denied.

“A minute is a lot, but we have to do this climb again, and maybe my legs won't be so good then,” Yates said afterwards.

“Also, I heard a rumour there are going to be crosswinds tomorrow, so we'll see. I've got a good group around me and I'll try and hold onto the lead as long as possible.”

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