🎥 Pogacar and teammate tease the approaching and pressing peloton by waving and laughing

Normally, the fifth stage of the UAE Tour would be a boring, uneventful ride for the peloton, where they would expect a sprint finish. But a race with Tadej Pogacar is rarely boring, and Friday was no exception. The GC leader decided to test his legs and join the early breakaway.

It was a bizarre sight: a leading group had already formed, and suddenly, UAE Team Emirates—XRG reacted. Tadej Pogacar and Domen Novak chose to attack. They were joined by defending champion Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto), among others, so suddenly, there were some big names in the leading group.

This resulted in a fast pace because the peloton did not want to let such big names ride away. The leading group and the peloton eventually caught up: Novak could be seen playfully waving to the peloton in the opposite direction while Josef Cerny incredulously waved back. This resulted in the fastest stage in the history of the UAE Tour, with an average speed of over 48 kilometers per hour.

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Pogacar: "It was a fun day"

Afterward, Pogacar could not complain about his little adventure. "Of course, it wasn't the plan. Domen and I were returning from a pit stop, and we just happened to ride to the head of the pack. I thought back to the Vuelta a Catalunya, where Domen and I attacked the peloton. Then there were just the two of us; it was just a bit of fun. Today, some riders followed us, and we formed a breakaway. Then, we just had to keep going. It was a fun day."

So could it be considered a kind of training? The world champion had to put in more effort than when in the peloton. "I don't know. He stated casually, I don't care if it doesn't pay off in five years. "I was prepared for the race. For example, we had to do the same work if there were echelons. I was prepared for anything. Today, we had a little training; tomorrow, I hope for a leisurely ride."

Pogacar's presence caused considerable turmoil in the peloton. "Today was a good day for ninety percent of the peloton, but more people had to work because I was in the leading group. They had to take turns, but we shared the load today. Otherwise, we would still be in the heat. Better to finish in three hours than four and a half hours," the Slovenian winked.

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