The bunch sprint in the United Arab Emirates had been expected beforehand. Only right after the start, the riders first had to tackle a serious climb. There, Tijmen Graat tried to break away together with a number of other riders. That attempt failed, but five other riders were given some space by the peloton shortly afterwards.

The breakaway riders were only caught about 500 meters before the finish line in Fujairah, after which the day's winner was decided in the sprint: Jonathan Milan. Jørgen Nordhagen still sits ninth overall in the general classification. The Norwegian was safely guided to the finish by the rest of the yellow-and-black team, who did not get involved in the sprint. 

A very conscious choice, according to sports director Wynants. “We are here with a strong group, but with different goals. These are stages you simply need to get through safely, and we managed to do that. We were able to save some energy today. That was not the case for the sprint teams, who had to work all the way to the finish. The five-man break really made it difficult for them.”

Tomorrow, the sprinters will once again face a flat stage. “Still, it will be a very different stage compared to today. We’ll be heading into the desert, so wind and high temperatures could play a role”, Wynants explains. On Saturday, the team expects its key moment when the race finishes on Jebel Hafeet. “That will be the most important stage left for us. We will do everything we can there to hold on to our top ten spot in the general classification.”