UAE Tour

Tim Merlier showed there’s a reason why he is the best sprinter in the world, making it back-to-back stage victories at the UAE Tour on the penultimate day of the race with a sublime sprint in Abu Dhabi, where he won for the third year in a row.

It was another hectic mass gallop at the World Tour race, and the 32-year-old Belgian came from a different post code in the final part of Saturday’s stage, launching his sprint in the headwind an incredible 300 meters from the line, a stunning move that caught everyone else off-guard. Victorious twenty-four hours ago in Dubai, Merlier showed a blistering speed on his way to his fifth victory as reigning European Champion, putting several bike lengths between him and the other riders who finished on the podium.

“It’s my third success here in Abu Dhabi and it makes me happy. The guys controlled the breakaway and brought me in a great position with two kilometers to go. I was on Bert’s wheel, but we lost each other, and then I was boxed in the whole time. Fortunately, I found a gap at 300 meters to go and I tried to surprise the others. As soon as I had a small advantage, I just kept going and despite it being a long effort, I maintained the speed until the finish.”

“It’s an important win, because every time you get an opportunity and grab it, it counts. As I said before, I like this race a lot and I already look forward to returning here. We have one more stage, but overall, it’s been a good week for us and I’ll leave with a lot of confidence from the Middle East”, added Tim, who so far this season has won a pair of stages at both AlUla Tour and UAE Tour.

Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images