05. February 2016 – Silvan Dillier has finished third, and Philippe Gilbert fifth, on the Hatta Dam climb on stage 3 of the Dubai Tour taken out by Juan José Lobato (Movistar).
A five-man breakaway went away for most of the stage, before the peloton pulled them back closing in on the short, but steep Hatta Dam finish.
BMC Racing Team hit the front of the peloton with one kilometer to go, with Samuel Sánchez bringing Dillier and Gilbert to the final corner, before the last push to the finish.
Dillier’s third place finish follows his involvement in the breakaway on stage 2 yesterday, where he picked up 5 bonus seconds in the intermediate sprints.
He now sits fourth overall in the General Classification, 12 seconds behind new race leader Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo). Gilbert is in sixth place, 21 seconds behind.
“It was a pretty hectic finish with some corners and speed bumps. We tried to stay calm until the last moment. I felt really good, I tried to stay with the team. Unfortunately I lost the wheel of Samuel Sánchez who did a really good job in getting us through the peloton smoothly and put Phil in a good position at the bottom of the climb. In the end I got third. It was a nice effort at the end and hopefully I gained a few places in the GC,” Dillier said.
“The whole day it was a little bit windy and stressful as you’re never sure what’s going to happen so you need to be focused all the time, and always have some power on the pedals.”
In his first race of the season, Dillier is happy with his form.
“My shape is good and I’m also on track with my Track World Championships preparation. I feel good. Yesterday was a nice stage in the breakaway and then today finishing third, so all good so far.”
The Dubai Tour wraps up tomorrow with a 137 kilometer flag stage through the heart of Dubai.
