Ewan sprints to victory on second stage of UAE Tour

Australian Caleb Ewan sprinted to victory in the second stage of the UAE Tour on Monday, taking the overall lead in the process, while Chris Froome was dropped by the peloton.

The 25-year-old Ewan, who also won two stages on the Tour Down Under earlier this year, edged out Irishman Sam Bennett on the up-hill climb at the finish to take the win at Hatta Dam for a second straight year.

Speaking seconds after the stage finish, the winner and new Red Jersey Ewan said: “It’s great to win here again one year later. We thought it would be a harder stage this time but due to the absence of the wind it was a pretty straightforward race.

“My team positioned me perfectly. I wasn’t worried when Sam Bennett went before me because I knew this race was to be won in the last twenty meters.

“Now I lead the UAE Tour after I led the Santos Tour Down Under early this year. It always feels good leading a stage race even if it might last for only one day.”

The Australian took the lead in the general classification as the first-stage winner German Pascal Ackermann fell away on the penultimate climb.

Four-time Tour de France winner Froome, racing for the first time since a horror crash during training at the Criterium du Dauphine last June, was dropped by the leaders eight kilometres from the finish, ending 111th at 3min 46sec.

 Frenchman Arnaud Demare was third on the day after the 168km ride from Hatta to Hatta Dam.

Tuesday’s 184km third stage ends with a challenging final climb of 10.6km, with a seven percent average gradient, at Jebel Hafeet.

Meanwhile, UAE Team Emirates brought back the break and worked tirelessly in the final few kms to position its riders giving Diego Ulissi a great opportunity on a brutal finish of the race.

Diego was narrowly denied a podium position on the line by Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ), with Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-Quickstep) and Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) taking second and first respectively.

A scorching day in the desert saw temperatures rise to over 30 degrees Celsius as stage 2 of the UAE Tour ran from hatta (Heritage village) with a 137km jaunt through the desert before an explosive hatta Dam finale.

Ulissi said “It was mainly a relaxed day in the peloton. Obviously with the steep finish at hatta Dam it made it more complicated in the closing kilometres. It was a finish that suited the really explosive riders and I think I did well.

“We were all in a great position coming into the bottom and I jumped from the bottom of the climb and ended up just off the podium. I’m feeling good and it bodes well for the rest of the week.”

The team’s GC man, Tadej Pogacar signalled his intentions for the week by powering through to secure the last bonus second of the first intermediate sprint, firmly establishing his GC credentials and will be looking forward to the tomorrow’s first of two Jebel Hafeet finishes.

Earlier on Sunday, a returning Froome said: “It felt good to be a bike racer again” after he returned to the competitive cycling for the first time in eight months as Pascal.

It was seven-time Grand Tour winner froome’s first competitive stage since suffering numerous injuries last year in a high-speed crash into a wall while training at the Criterium du Dauphine last June.

He finished safely in the pack after the 148km ride around Dubai.

“It feels good, it feels really good. It’s a great feeling to be back in the bunch and there were so many riders coming up to me and saying it was good to see me back,” the Briton told cyclingnews.com.