Wiebes thanks Longo Borghini after 48 km/h echelon battle, Visma | Lease a Bike keeps hope alive with Ferrand-Prévot

War on the road, that's how you could describe the second stage of the UAE Tour. From the start, there was an echelon alert, and five ladies managed to escape. The peloton never saw them again; leader Lorena Wiebes was the strongest of the five. The SD Worx-Protime sprint star was thus the best for the second day in a row, in a stage that went down in the history books.

Although it seemed like she was always in control, nothing could be further from the truth. "I really didn't expect this at all, especially since the peloton was very close for a long time,' she told the flash interview. 'I was one of the last to cross over to this group at the beginning. With the wind up, we managed to pick up minutes, and we just kept going."

Elisa Longo Borghini and her teammates Karlijn Swinkels and Lara Gillespie were also among the front five. Things were fortunate for Wiebes, as the UAE Team ADQ ladies went at full speed for the defending champion's GC. "I was lucky that UAE had three riders in the group. They kept riding on for Elisa's GC. After that, it was easy sprinting."

Read more below the photo!

Fastest stage ever: "Felt it was fast"

Although easy sprinting, sprinting is never easy. "With sprints, you are never one hundred percent sure. But I remembered the sprint two years ago, so I knew in what position I had to get through the turn. After that, I had the space to choose my own line. Then, I did have the confidence."

The race finished with an average of over 48 kilometers per hour, by far the fastest in the history of the stage race. "I did feel it was going very fast, yes. I also knew that from the group behind us: it was difficult to catch us back because they just couldn't go any faster themselves," stated Wiebes, who, with five stage wins, is now also the record holder. "I didn't know that. But I love this race."

Visma | Lease a Bike, and Ferrand-Prévot are suddenly riding for places of honor

In the GC, the battle is over. On Saturday, we ride up Jebel Hafeet, and Longo Borghini defends a 1.30-minute lead over the first serious attacker, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot of Visma | Lease a Bike. Ladies such as Juliette Labous (FDJ-SUEZ) and Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek) are also within that margin, with two stages to go.

At Visma | Lease a Bike, they remain confident of a nice final result for their French leading lady. "Ferrand-Prévot holds her own in echelon stage UAE Tour Women," is the headline on the official website, knowing that the Frenchwoman was the only one on the team in group two. "All her teammates were even further ahead. 'What Pauline showed today is very promising," team manager Jos van Emden stated.

The Dutch ex-cyclist continued: "You can't expect her to ride with the best in her first race, so in a way this surprises me." Visma | Lease a Bike only saw the team dwindle in the last 50 kilometers. "The riders are disappointed at the moment, but satisfaction prevails with me. Longo Borghini took a big lead today, but as always, we will go for the highest possible. A podium place is definitely realistic. That's a very nice prospect."

Read also

UAE and Pogacar remain mysterious about world champion's grand tour plans, but Soler reveals his leader’s program

"Without races we can't do our job," shouts stage winner Arnaud De Lie, explaining why he continued in Bessèges (while some Lotto riders didn’t)

Incredible: Another car on the Bessèges course, half of the teams send riders home

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Get every week the latest news about CYCLING in your inbox!

Subscribe