Molano claims narrow sprint victory on UAE Tour stage 4

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Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates) claimed victory on stage 4 of the UAE Tour, edging out Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) and Sam Welsford (Team DSM) in a tight bunch sprint in Dubai.

A photo finish was required to separate the trio on the line but the Colombian just nudged his front wheel a couple of centimetres ahead of the Dutchman's on the throw, with Welsford sandwiched in between them.

Stage 1 winner Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) lost out to Welsford in the battle for the wheel of early-opener Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) and then sat up and coasted home, while Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) was never in a position to compete for the podium on the left-hand side of the road, and Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Dstny) had to brake to avoid crashing.

"It's a good victory for me, and for the team," said Molano, who rescued what had been a poor start for the home team in one of their most important outings of the year.

Tadej Pogačar has won the race in the past two years but is absent this year, with his deputy Adam Yates falling out of overall contention in the opening day's crosswinds.

"I'm very happy for the team, for this country, for the whole people," Molano added.

Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) surfed the back of the bunch for much of the run-in but finished safely to retain the overall lead of the race, with no changes at the top of the standings.

"We tried to win with Tim, but it's quite clear now I'm in the leader's jersey that I'm not going to take risks in the lead-out. I was taking care of myself," Evenepoel said as he looked ahead to two more sprint days before the final showdown on Jebel Hafeet.

"I hope I can just get through those days and save as much energy as possible, but it'd be nice if we can win another stage with Tim."

Stage 4 of the UAE Tour was based in the Emirate of Dubai, starting in Shindagha before heading out to the Al Qudra cycle track and back to the coast for a finale through the striking Jumeirah Palm man-made island.

There was no real wind and so it was a quiet 174km in the saddle, animated by a three-rider breakaway made up of Alex Baudin (AG2R Citroën) and the Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè duo of Alessandro Tonelli and Samuele Zoccarato.

The trio built a lead of over three minutes but were brought to heel as the peloton made its way around the Jumeirah Palm before heading back onto the mainland for the finish along the Dubai Harbour.

The lead-out was complicated by a tight right-hand bend with 800 metres to go, making it hard for big lead-out trains to deliver riders.

Instead, Gaviria took it upon himself to hit out with more than 200 metres to go, a move that has worked for him in the past but not with this headwind, and the Colombian ended up bashing his bars in frustration.

It was Welsford who jumped into action and jumped onto Gaviria's wheel, which Merlier was also making a beeline for. The Australian got there, but Kooij and Molano lined up behind him.

Kooij went left and as Merlier faded Molano found a gap on the right. They all came together in a row on the line, and in the end, it fell to Molano by the tightest of margins.

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