Tuesday 18 February, 2025
With a brief spell in the hot seat on stage 2, Tadej Pogačar rode to third place at the UAE Tour in the 12.2km-long individual time trial. Raced on Al Hudayriyat Island, the stage 2 test was an important marker for the general classification battle and saw UAE Team Emirates-XRG also place well through Jay Vine in fourth.
It was Pogačar who was first down the ramp for the Emirati squad, with the former Slovenian national time trial champion blitzing through the first intermediate time check some five seconds quicker than the early pacesetter, Iván Romeo (Movistar). Riding a negative split, Pogačar ramped up his pace through the second half of the course and finished strongly across the line.
With a finish time of 13:13, the two-time winner of this race sat in the hot seat having clocked in an average speed of 55.4kph. Although Pogačar’s time would be bettered by stage winner Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) and second-placed Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), his efforts were enough to place third at the end of the stage. With this result, Pogačar moves up to third in the general classification.
Backing up his teammate’s performance, former Australian national time trial champion Vine produced an excellent effort of his own to take fourth place on the stage. The 29-year-old ceded only three seconds to his teammate across the course and now sits fourth overall, leaving UAE Team Emirates-XRG handily placed ahead of the first summit finish of the race on Wednesday.
Finishing atop the now renowned Jebel Jais, stage 3 will challenge the peloton with 180.9km, the majority of which will be across flat terrain before the final climb. The highest peak in the United Arab Emirates extends for 21km at 5.5%, with the toughest slopes reserved for the final few kilometres of racing. At his last appearance at the UAE Tour, Pogačar won atop this mountain on his way to sealing a second overall title in 2022.
Speaking after his third-placed performance on stage 2, the Slovenian was in high spirits for the week ahead.
Pogačar: “It was a good time trial, a first all-out effort of the year and I am happy with both the speed and the legs. It was always going to be tough to compete against Tarling and Bissegger because they really fly on this kind of parcours.
“Tomorrow is a very nice stage for me. I have good memories from Jebel Jais and as I always say, it is a day for a sprint between the climbers. There can be surprises, of course, but I am really looking forward to it because it suits me very well.”
UAE Tour stage 2 (ITT) results
- Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) 12:55
- Stefan Bissegger (Soudal Quick-Step) +13″
- Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +18″
UAE Tour general classification after stage 2
- Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) 3:44:29
- Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +13″
- Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +18″
- Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +21″
