Tobias Lund Andresen 3rd and Oscar Onley 5th on punchy UAE Tour uphill sprint

The UAE Tour got underway on Monday afternoon with a stage through the desert before a tough uphill finish at Liwa Palace; where the riders would be faced with a four percent incline for the closing one-and-a-half kilometres. Rolling out of Madinat Zayed Shams Solar Park, Team Picnic PostNL set out with the dual goals of protecting GC finisher Oscar Onley; while looking to set up Surf Coast Classic winner Tobias Lund Andresen for the final punch to the line, with the Dane finding the uphill drag suited to his characteristics.

From the flag drop a three rider move went clear and the race fell into a familiar pattern, with the peloton keeping tabs on those ahead, but riding at a steady pace into a headwind. Team Picnic PostNL kept themselves safe and sheltered in the bunch, before moving up towards the front in the last 20 kilometres once the break was caught.

Some good positioning work by the team saw Lund Andresen to the fore once through the final roundabout, as the pace remained high. Coming onto the uphill drag to the line, those in front of Lund Andresen peeled off quickly and he was left on the front of the bunch. Last lead-out, Niklas Märkl tried to come back around him to give one final pull but he was unable to squeeze through the gap. Nonetheless, Lund Andresen pivoted onto other wheels as the sprint opened up, but he had to kick hard after losing some momentum. Oscar Onley showed some speed and produced a good sprint effort, while also giving Lund Andresen a wheel to follow, with Lund Andresen ultimately crossing the line for what would be third on the stage while Onley finished just behind in fifth.

Speaking after the stage Lund Andresen expressed: “We had a headwind for most of the day, so the race ended up being slower than expected. The final started after the laps and we got organised pretty fast as a team, and we hit our key points all the way to the roundabout. Unfortunately, I got the front too early and I didn’t hear Niklas behind me, so I thought I was alone. In the end I had to drop back too much just before the other guys kicked towards the finish line. I’m happy with my sensations though and to get a podium in the end, and I think the results also show how tough the sprint was today.”

Team Picnic PostNL coach Roy Curvers added: “Today was a tricky final with an almost one-and-a-half kilometres uphill section until the line. Up front we made a good plan to try and put Tobias in position to be able to contest for the win. The whole team worked well together throughout the stage and that meant we were basically always where we needed to be. In the end Tobias was in the wind a little too early, however finishing third shows he can compete with the best on a final like this, but to beat the likes of Milan on an uphill kick like this everything has to be 100 percent perfect. With Oscar also finishing in fifth and without time loss, it was also a good day GC wise for us too.”