A long solo by Thomas De Gendt was stifled twenty kilometres from the finish, and several teams tried to form echelons. For a short time, the peloton seemed to break up in pieces, but everything came together again in the final five kilometres. This meant another sprint for the day's victory.

Kooij, who came within a few millimetres of his first win of the season on Thursday, chose the wrong side of the road in the streets of Umm al Quwain and got stuck behind Tim Merlier. On the other side of the road, Dylan Groenewegen sprinted to victory. "This is not the result we were hoping for", sports director Maarten Wynants said.

According to the Belgian, things went wrong in the run-up to the sprint. "We knew it would be a hectic sprint because of the headwind. In their enthusiasm, the guys took the lead a bit too quickly and couldn't help Olav in the final kilometres. Details decide the result. To win, everything has to go together", Wynants said.

"We have to put our heads together and see what we can do better. Tomorrow we have another chance." Wynants praised his riders for how they responded to the wind in the final 20 kilometres. "We were everywhere we needed to be. The shape is good, but unfortunately, we are not winning yet. If we keep going like this, the victories will come."