UAE Tour stage 4 - Live coverage

Hello there and welcome along to our live coverage of the UAE Tour as the race heads for the first of its two summit finishes. Jebel Hafeet awaits on the final day but today we're going up Jebel Jais on the northern tip of the UAE. 

As we pick up the action, with 75km still to race, we have a two-man breakaway with a lead of more than six minutes over the peloton. 

The two riders out front are:

Jakob Egholm (Trek-Segafredo)

Luca Rastelli (Bardiani-CSF-Faizane)

A bit more on Jebel Jais, which is the only real feature of this stage. It's definitely the easier of the two summit finishes. It's one of those grinding wide roads that drag up at a gradient that sits awkwardly between easy and hard. It's a long one, at 20km, but the gradient never strays far from the 5% mark, even if there are a couple of steeper pitches nearer the top. 

As such, it's less one for the pure climbers and more one where many-a-rouleur will be able to follow. As a guide, last year Ineos did the mountain train thing but a big group arrived at the final kilometre, where Jonas Vingegaard first emerged. Whereas Jebel Hafeet has seen longer-range aggression, it's difficult to see any of the big favourites hitting out before the final throes.

Before we get properly stuck in, now's the time to catch up on yesterday's action. Report, results, photos all in the link below.

UAE Tour: Bissegger beats Ganna to stage 3 time trial

The battle for the overall title started to take shape in that time trial. Of the possible contenders, Tom Dumoulin (Jumbo-Visma) fared best, placing third, 14 seconds down on Bissegger. 2021 champion and Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar was fourth at 18 seconds, followed by his UAE Team Emirates teammate Joao Almeida at 22 seconds. 

Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe), at 25 seconds, and Adam Yates, at 29 seconds, also put themselves right in the mix with strong rides. Vlasov is a man in form after winning the recent Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, while Yates has pedigree at this race, beating Pogacar to the overall in 2020 before just missing out to the Slovenian last year. 

55km to go

The gap to the two breakaway riders drops below five minutes as we continue our long approach to Jebel Jais.

The two leaders are starting to fade and their lead drops below four minutes as they enter the final 50km.

They should stem the tide temporarily, actually, as a comfort break stop is called in the peloton.

Mark Cavendish riding along calmly in the bunch. He crashed heavily with around 130km to go, as they went over a speed bump. He appeared to hit his head on the tarmac, and was apparently checked over before remounting. He went back to his team car to swap his helmet, but has continued in the race. 

Intermediate sprint time, but it's a bit of a non-event, as Rastelli skips clear and Egholm let's him do so.

Gazprom lift the pace in the bunch. They're going after this intermediate sprint here.

And Alpecin-Fenix join in. The peloton really lines out.

Kukrle is leading out Strakhov for Gazprom, who's in the black jersey for the intermediate sprints classification, but Philipsen is in green as leader as the overall points classification.

Philipsen opens up and comfortably crosses the intermediate sprint to pick up three points, while Strakhov has to content himself with the final remaining point.

New breakaway?! Philipsen Strakhov and Alpecin lead-out man Jonas Rickaert decided to carry on after the intermediate sprint and they're currently in a little three-up off the front of the peloton.

That trio have 30 seconds in hand on the peloton.

Some big news today in that Lizzie Deignan will not race in 2022. That's because she's pregnant with her second child. She will, however, return in 2023 and has been handed a contract extension through 2024 by Trek-Segafredo, which is absolutely brilliant to see. Full story here.

The leader's jersey is on the shoulders of Stefan Bissegger and his EF Education-EasyPost teammates have done much of the pacing in the peloton today, but Pogacar's UAE henchman have now taken over. 

30km to go

Around 10km to the start of the climb. Egholm and Rastelli are still out front. They have a lead of 2:30 over the trio of Philipsen-Strakhov-Rickaert, and 3:00 over the peloton. 

The Philipsen trio seems to be sitting up and waiting now.

That was a strange move, especially considering Philipsen still has stage wins to compete for in the next couple of days. It appeared to be Rickaert doing the pace-making but still, not sure what they were hoping to gain.

Philipsen got off his bike and started running the other day, so slow was the pace, so maybe he's just prone to boredom.

Anyway, they're back in the fold and the peloton carries on at a steady tempo towards the foot of Jebel Jais.

It's Max Richeze on the front for UAE but no one else at this stage. EF still have a load of riders near the front but the pace is sedate.

5km to the foot of the climb. 

Mathieu van der Poel is on his way back. He's been racking up the kilometres in Spain, completing eight rides in nine days, with a six-hour day thrown in there. Full details here.

20km to go

Egholm and Rastelli have 50 seconds in hand as the road starts to drag uphill ahead of the climb. 

EF have the front and are ramping up their effort as they hit the climb.

Already a few of the sprinters drift off the back.

Marijn van den Berg is on the front for EF, followed by Neilson Powless, and then the race leader Bissegger. 

Sam Bennett is dropped. Cavendish is still at the back of the bunch.

But now the Manxman loses contact. 

Egholm and Rastelli can turn around and see their pursuers. Not long left for them.

That's it. After a bit of dangling, Egholm and Rastelli are absorbed into the peloton and it's all together, barring a few dropped sprinters.

Van den Berg pulls aside and falls away. 

UAE now take over from EF 15km from the top.

It's Mikkel Bjerg who's nipped through to the front for UAE. He's setting pace in front of the four EF riders. 

Bjerg has been ordered to lift the pace here and he's doing just that. He's really gurning away as the bunch starts to stretch.

Bissegger looks comfortable in third wheel. 

EF still have four behind Bjerg, whose UAE Team Emirates are behind the pink jerseys. Almeida, Bennett, Majka, and Pogacar are still there. 

And now Bjerg pulls aside

George Bennett takes it up now for UAE with 12km to go

The Kiwi climber properly raises the pace now and riders are steadily dropping. Kwiatkowski among them.

EF lose a rider from their mini group behind Bennett.

UAE are determined to make this hard. Remember, they have two cards to play, with Pogacar and Almeida both high up overall after yesterday's time trial.

Bissegger is now second wheel behind Bennett and he's still looking good.

Still more than 40 riders in this bunch with 9.5km to go.

Pogacar shouts into his radio, calling for an upping of the tempo, perhaps.

Filippo Ganna, beaten by Bissegger in the TT yesterday, is still in the middle of this bunch. He could hold on today and keep a good GC position but in reality he's here to work for Ineos leader Adam Yates, who had a brilliant TT.

Bennett swings off. 8.5km from the top. Who takes it up now?

Well, it's Majka but it's not pace setting - it's an attack!

It's a small dig to spark the rest into action, and he draws a response from Bora and EF.

Dumoulin is dropped!

Pogacar attacks!!

8km to go and the Tour de France champion puts in a dig at the front. He doesn't get away and he knocks it off, but it's all happening now.

Majka picks it up again now with a big raise in tempo after that lull.

But now Majka pulls aside.

Bissegger dropped! He's slipping out of the lead today.

UAE are clearly playing the numbers game here, rather than the simple mountain train.

And Almeida hits the front now with a small acceleration.

Attack from Intermarche after the latest lull.

It's Jan Hirt for Intermarche, winner of the recent Tour of Oman.

Majka responds to it. DSM mark it too.

Plapp is there for Ineos and now a Bora rider works his way across. 

It's coming back together.

Majka goes again!

Taaramae goes after it for Intermarche. 

Chris Harper and Ruben Guerreiro get across to it now and more riders set off in pursuit. 

Gino Mader and Andreas Leknessund are the next two to bridge across. 

5km to go

That makes it a group of six out front with a lead of 15 seconds over the rest of the bunch, which contains around 25 riders.

Plapp is leading the second group for Yates. Pogacar is poised on the wheel of his big rival at this race for the past two years.

And Plapp brings it back! 4.3km to go

Plapp, remember, is a first-year pro. He's already wearing the jersey of Australian champion and appears to have a huge future ahead of him.

The next attack comes from Jumbo-Visma and it's Harper again. 

It settles down again and Majka declines to take it up. Intermarche go for it

Taaramae takes it up now, Hirt in the wheel. Big injection of pace with 3.5km to go.

Almeida is grimacing in third wheel. 

Almeida can't hold the pace and moves down the bunch. Pogacar now third wheel.

Intermarche doing big damage here.

3km to go and Taaramae pulls aside. Hirt accelerates!

Pogacar is in the wheel, with Yates and Vlasov. 

There's another lull as Hirt hesitates, and Pogacar doesn't want to take it up.

There's still a split after that big Intermarche move and Yates decides to keep it strong with 2.5km to go

Romain Bardet and Pello Bilbao are there as well. So is Plapp. 

Big attack from Hirt! But short-lived.

2km to go

Final 2000 metres. This is where the steepest stuff is found. Lots of 7% and even a bit of 9%

Hirt goes again!

He opens it up again and Vlasov takes it up. 

Yates, Plapp, Pogacar, Bilbao, Bardet, Hirt, Vlasov are in this group but it's closing again.

It comes back for a group of around 20.

Majka hits the front with 1100 metres to go. He's looking around. It's cagey now

1km to go

Final bullets being loaded.

Almeida picks up the pace now.

Majka second wheel, Pogacar third wheel. Mountain lead-out

This is coming down to a mountain-top sprint from a group of 20

Or is it? Plapp attacks!!

Almeida can't react. Majka has to take it up for Pogacar

Majka pulls back Plapp. Plapp still on the front.

Guerreiro opens up now

But Pogacar hits out...

And takes it!

Yates second, Vlasov third, but daylight between them and the Tour de France champion, who takes his first win of 2022.

Ganna finishes in the group and might just be in the overall lead. Wow. He started the day 11 seconds up on Pogacar, who takes 10 bonus seconds. As long as there were no time gaps recorded among that group, Ganna is in red.

There was a three-second gap given after the Pogacar-Yates-Vlasov top three. So Pogacar is the new overall leader. 

Plapp (what a ride by him today) shook things up there and Guerreiro looked throw the cat among the pigeons with a big acceleration in the final 200 but Pogacar looked imperious as he eased through. COVID clearly hasn't hampered him and he's now primed to win this race for a second time, even if Jebel Hafeet will be a different proposition entirely.

Let's hear from Pogacar

"It was an amazing day. The teamwork was perfect. It was the first climb, with a lot of strong riders attacking left right and centre. The team did a super job bringing me to the final sprint, and I did my best possible and am super happy.

"I'm super happy to take the stage and kick off the year with a win. You don't know what can happen on the last day, you can lose time, so I'm super happy to take the jersey and the win today, so now we have two flat stages and then we focus on the final day and see how it goes."

UAE Tour: Tadej Pogacar wins stage 4 on Jebel Jais mountain finish