Two-time Belgian Champion finishes third in the Middle East.

Soudal Quick-Step returned to the desert for the fourth edition of the rebranded Alula Tour, which got underway with a pan-flat stage around the Al Manshiya Train Station. For the sprinters’ teams targeting the victory at the end of the day it was pretty straightforward, with five men going clear early and being kept in check the entire time.

One of those who worked hard at the front of the peloton was also new Soudal Quick-Step rider Ayco Bastiaens, the 27-year-old Belgian spending large chunks of time at the front of the chasing group until the final 15 kilometers, when the last member of the breakaway was reeled in and the bunch was again as one.

The finale was a hectic one, with a crash at seven kilometers to go that forced Tim Merlier to take Bert Van Lerberghe’s bike and lose precious positions, and the presence of a very sharp hairpin just before the flamme rouge, which made everyone nervous and fragmented the lead-out trains.

As a result, it was every man for himself on the run-in to the line, but despite coming from a long way back and being without his trusted lead-out man, Tim Merlier clinched a solid third place in his first day of racing this season, as Casper Van Uden (DSM Firmenich-PostNL) took the win. It was the Belgian’s 16th top-three finish since joining the team at the start of last year and a confirmation he’ll be among the contenders for a stage victory in Saudi Arabia.

 

Photo credit: ©Alex Broadway / Getty Images

Race details

1 Casper van Uden
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
3:18:55
2 Dylan Groenewegen
Team Jayco AlUla
0:00
3 Tim Merlier
Soudal Quick-Step
0:00
4 Søren Wærenskjold
Uno-X Mobility
0:00
5 Dušan Rajović
Bahrain - Victorious
0:00
6 Arvid de Kleijn
Tudor Pro Cycling Team
0:00
7 Matteo Malucelli
JCL Team UKYO
0:00
8 Juan Sebastián Molano Benavides
UAE Team Emirates
0:00
9 Gleb Syritsa
Astana Qazaqstan Team
0:00
10 Davide Cimolai
Movistar Team
0:00
52 William Junior Lecerf
Soudal Quick-Step
0:00
82 Warre Vangheluwe
Soudal Quick-Step
0:00
95 Jordi Warlop
Soudal Quick-Step
0:26
96 Ayco Bastiaens
Soudal Quick-Step
0:45
114 Bert Van Lerberghe
Soudal Quick-Step
3:34
115 Martin Svrček
Soudal Quick-Step
3:34
1 Casper van Uden
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
3:18:45
2 Dylan Groenewegen
Team Jayco AlUla
0:04
3 Tim Merlier
Soudal Quick-Step
0:06
4 Matteo Sobrero
BORA - hansgrohe
0:07
5 Fred Wright
Bahrain - Victorious
0:08
6 Fredrik Dversnes
Uno-X Mobility
0:09
7 Søren Wærenskjold
Uno-X Mobility
0:10
8 Dušan Rajović
Bahrain - Victorious
0:10
9 Arvid de Kleijn
Tudor Pro Cycling Team
0:10
10 Matteo Malucelli
JCL Team UKYO
0:10
53 William Junior Lecerf
Soudal Quick-Step
0:10
82 Warre Vangheluwe
Soudal Quick-Step
0:10
95 Jordi Warlop
Soudal Quick-Step
0:36
96 Ayco Bastiaens
Soudal Quick-Step
0:55
114 Bert Van Lerberghe
Soudal Quick-Step
3:44
115 Martin Svrček
Soudal Quick-Step
3:44
1 Casper van Uden
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
15 pt
2 Dylan Groenewegen
Team Jayco AlUla
12 pt
3 Tim Merlier
Soudal Quick-Step
9 pt
4 Søren Wærenskjold
Uno-X Mobility
7 pt
5 Dušan Rajović
Bahrain - Victorious
6 pt
6 Arvid de Kleijn
Tudor Pro Cycling Team
5 pt
7 Matteo Malucelli
JCL Team UKYO
4 pt
8 Juan Sebastián Molano Benavides
UAE Team Emirates
3 pt
9 Gleb Syritsa
Astana Qazaqstan Team
2 pt
10 Davide Cimolai
Movistar Team
1 pt
1 Casper van Uden
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
3:18:45
2 Fred Wright
Bahrain - Victorious
0:08
3 Søren Wærenskjold
Uno-X Mobility
0:10
4 Gleb Syritsa
Astana Qazaqstan Team
0:10
5 Henok Mulubrhan
Astana Qazaqstan Team
0:10
6 Andoni López de Abetxuko Jimenez
Euskaltel - Euskadi
0:10
7 Fabio Christen
Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
0:10
8 Lorenzo Milesi
Movistar Team
0:10
9 Anders Halland Johannessen
Uno-X Mobility
0:10
10 Rick Pluimers
Tudor Pro Cycling Team
0:10
16 William Junior Lecerf
Soudal Quick-Step
0:10
25 Warre Vangheluwe
Soudal Quick-Step
0:10
39 Martin Svrček
Soudal Quick-Step
3:44
1 Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team 9:56:45
2 JCL Team UKYO 0:00
3 Bahrain - Victorious 0:00
4 Astana Qazaqstan Team 0:00
5 UAE Team Emirates 0:00
6 Movistar Team 0:00
7 TotalEnergies 0:00
8 Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:00
9 Uno-X Mobility 0:00
10 Terengganu Cycling Team 0:00

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