Alberto Dainese sprinted for the Wolfpack in Fujairah.
The peloton looked to be tired Thursday, after the effort they had to put in on the excruciating gradients of Jebel Mobrah, and that only increased the chances of the breakaway, which initially seemed doomed from the moment they got away in the opening kilometers of this fourth stage.
The quartet had a maximum gap of three minutes, but they pushed hard and forced the chasers to constantly increase the tempo behind in order to erase that deficit by the time they entered in the closing part of the day. A crash – in which Ethan Hayter was involved – slowed down the bunch, where Soudal Quick-Step was already playing an active role, helping with the pace-setting. Thanks also to this effort, the margin got cut to 25 seconds inside ten kilometers to go, but the catch was made only with 200 meters to go, turning an already hectic bunch sprint into a completely disorganised one.
Alberto Dainese came close to the top ten in Fujairah, where a UAE Tour stage finished for the first time in history, crossing the line in 11th place as Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) took the win. His teammate Ilan Van Wilder concluded safely in the peloton and remained sixth on the general classification, which is likely to stay unchanged also after Friday’s stage, when the sprinters should get another opportunity.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
