Lorena Wiebes produced another sensational sprint to the finishing line to complete back-to-back victories in the UAE Tour Women on Friday.
The SD Worx-Protime’s Dutch rider punched her right hand in the air as she sprinted clear of a bunch of five rivals to complete her second stage win and retain the leader’s jersey after the 111-kilometre trip from Al Dhafra Fort to Al Mirfa.
Lily Williams (Human Powered Health) took second spot ahead of the UAE Team ADQ trio of Lara Gillispie, Elisa Longo Borghini and Karlijn Swinkels, who came home in that order.
Wiebes, Gillespie, Williams, Longo Borghini and Swinkels were the five riders who battled through crosswinds to spend all day out in front, forming an echelon within the first few kilometres of the stage and holding off the peloton.
“I didn't expect to win from a group of only five riders that went so early, especially because I was last to come across and the peloton has been close to us for such a long time,” Wiebes said.
“We got a one minute lead in the headwind part, and we kept going. I was lucky to have three UAE riders in the group. They kept riding for the GC for Elisa [Longo Borghini].
“It made it easier for me to sprint to victory. But you're never 100 per cent sure to win a sprint. Having won here two years ago, I knew which position I had to be in after the last curve.
“It felt like a very fast race all day, so I knew it was hard for the chasers. Now I hope to also win the last stage. It's something I'm yet to achieve in the UAE Tour.”
It was a challenging second day of racing along the fast, flat desert roads, with an average speed of 48.4km per hour.
“I felt it was really fast. That’s the thing that I knew from the chasing group behind, that it was hard to chase us back, as they could not go much faster than we did,” Wiebes said.
Saturday's penultimate 152km Stage 3 from Al Ain Qasr Al Muwaiji to the summit of Jebel Hafeet is the longest and decisive sector which UAE Team ADQ will be using to set up Longo Borghini for the overall lead.
The 2023 winner of the UAE Tour when racing for Lidi-Trek before her switch to UAE Team ADQ is well placed with her team backing her to the hilt.
“For sure it was the plan to go full gas from the start. We were prepared for the crosswinds, but it wasn’t the plan to be only five riders in the lead,” Swinkels said of Stage 2.
“We had a tough day, but we had a plan to give time to Elisa [Longo Borghini] and she’s happy to start tomorrow’s stage with an advantage of one and a half minutes.
“She’s strong in the mountains but she’s also very strong in the crosswinds. I guess she’ll have a bit less stress tomorrow.
“We were never really sure to stay away but we thought we could when the difference was two minutes. If we managed to keep the pace high, it would be hard for them to close the gap.
“In the last part, we gave all the energy we had left so the gap would be as big as possible. I think we did a really good job as a team. I don’t think the Black Jersey (leader of the intermediate sprint) is a goal for us. I only went for it to favour Elisa with the bonus seconds.
“The Black Jersey is the warmest one so it’s not what Elisa wanted to wear up to Jebel Hafeet. But we hope that after tomorrow, she’ll wear the Red Jersey.”
Stage 2 result:
1. L. Wiebes (Team SD Worx-Protime) - 2hr 17min 35sec
2. L. Williams (Human Powered Health) +0secs
3. L. Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ) +0
4. E. Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) +0
5. K. Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ) +6
General Classification:
1. L. Wiebes (Team SD Worx-Protime) - 6hr 14min 52sec
2. L. Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ) +13sec
3. L. Williams (Human Powered Health) +14
4. E. Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) +16
5. K. Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ) +21
