February 6th, 2016
Juanjo Lobato ends the Emirati race again in 3rd overall, as the team wins the team classification. Also 5th place in GC for Gorka Izagirre.
Marcel Kittel (EQS) won the 3rd Dubai Tour after conquering the final stage – 137km right next to the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. Movistar Team had tried to take advantage to squeeze Juanjo Lobato’s chances for the overall win. He was supported by all of his seven teammates, though he wasn’t at the top in the decisive sprint, but secured third place overall which equals his final result twelve months ago.
With two intermediate sprints out of reach with the six-man breakaway, the team focused on chasing for the final with Giovanni Visconti and Marc Soler taking impressive efforts at the front. Towards the end, Oliveira, Dowsett, Castroviejo and Sütterlin tried to keep Lobato with the strongest until the last kilometer, where the charge by Etixx and the swerving near the finish eluded Lobato (14th) and Gorka Izagirre (20th, just behind Sütterlin).
Movistar Team improved their performance from 2015 by winning a stage -the sprint by Lobato in Hatta on Friday, the GC podium, Gorka’s fifth overall and the teams classification, in the same style they won it in Abu Dhabi last October. A good end to the team’s great commitment towards their top sprinter over the four days of racing.
REACTION:
Juanjo Lobato: “The stage went well and the team was perfect, but there was a lot of stress and some touch between riders with a kilometer to go that made me lose all chance to contest the day’s win. Kittel unbeatable? Most probably yes, though I was feeling great today and I think we could have been closer to him than we were.
“I’m not disappointed about finishing just third – we came here with a GC podium as goal and it happened. Actually, I’m really happy about the work my teammates delivered the whole race. All of us together on the podium as the winning team makes me happier than that 3rd spot. This week was a confirmation of the whole squad’s efforts early this season and also a proof of our great atmosphere, in racing and also outside.
“I think I’m building good form – let’s hope to keep progressing and be 100% for that crucial month in the spring. This week made me see that finishes like Hatta’s suit me better, as I’m a good sprinter yet less heavy than many rivals. I’m getting closer and closer to the top guys in the world in all finishes, though.”
