The seven-day stage race in the United Arab Emirates kicked off with a short stage to Liwa. In the lead-up to the anticipated bunch sprint, Kooij spent a long time at the back of the peloton. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike sprinter was dealing with illness symptoms and had to drop from the peloton more than thirty kilometers from the finish. He crossed the line fifteen minutes after stage winner Milan. 

Meanwhile, Team Visma | Lease a Bike positioned itself for the sprint. Daniel McLay and Niklas Behrens did solid preparatory work leading into the final kilometer. On the uphill finishing stretch in Liwa, Gloag sprinted to eleventh place. The 23-year-old Brit, aiming for a strong overall classification, thus got off to a promising start. 

“It’s impressive that Thomas was able to contest the sprint for the top positions,” said sports director Jesper Mørkøv afterward. “Thomas and Bart Lemmen will have the opportunity to compete for the general classification this week. Today was a good opener. As for Olav, I’m glad he made it to the finish. We knew beforehand that he wasn’t feeling well, so the main goal was just to get through this stage.”