Al Hudayriyat (United Arab Emirates) (AFP)
The Italian Filippo Ganna (Ineos) won Monday the second stage of the UAE Tour, an individual time trial (13km) around the island of Al Hudayriyat, while the winner of the Tour de France Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), fourth, took the lead in the general classification.
Big favorite and reigning world champion in the discipline, Ganna is the only rider to have gone below the 14-minute mark (13'56).
Starting in the last positions, he won the stage to the detriment of the Swiss Stefan Bissegger (EF), long in the lead and who finished second in front of the Danish Mikkel Bjerg (UAE).
Ganna thus signs her third victory of the season after having won two stages, including a time trial, on the Etoile de Bessèges.
Pogacar, 4th in the clock at 24 seconds, performs a good operation, since he seizes the leader's red tunic to the detriment of Mathieu van der Poel, forced to withdraw with his Alpecin-Fenix team after a case of Covid- 19 within the framework of his training.
Overall, the Slovenian is five seconds ahead of the Portuguese Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick Step), 6th on the stage.
Teammate of Almeida, the Italian Mattia Cattaneo completed the podium, 18 seconds behind Pogacar.
Seventh and first Frenchman, Anthony Roux (Groupama-FDJ), is 45 seconds behind the leader.
The third stage, 162km long, will link Al Ain to Jebel Hafeet on Tuesday for a first arrival at the top.
Tadej Pogacar won last year at Jebel Hafeet and won the fifth stage of the UAE Tour 2020.
© 2021 AFP