Elia Viviani takes second stage of Dubai Tour

Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) overcame a last minute threat from Dylan Groenewegen to swiftly move across the finish line of stage 2 of the Dubai Tour.

Groenewegen came perilously close but had to settle for a second place finish after really pushing Viviani in the last 50 meters of the race. A second place meant Groenewegen maintained his overall lead by two seconds over Viviani. Team Astana’s Riccardo Minali bagged the third place, followed by Mark Cavendish at fourth.

This is Viviani’s second stage win of the year, having already won a stage at the Tour Down Under last month. The final couple of kilometres remained scratchy as Katusha-Alpecin’s lead-out riders tried to create formidable pace but without Marcel Kittel anywhere to be seen, Viviani found himself in the ideal position with just about 300m to go.

“Having my birthday today added to my motivation. Losing yesterday was also good for my head. Overnight we felt like we missed one chance that would never be given back. I feel I’m in good condition and have the legs for winning. I had a mechanical but luckily it was with 20km to go and I had time to come back. We were not really organised in the last part but we were able to close the gap as more of my riders got in front,” Viviani said after the win.

“With 500 meters to go, my lead out man Fabio Sabatini closed the gap. I chose Kristoff’s wheel from the right and Cavendish on the left. I saw Groenewegen coming back with 50 meters but finally the line was in the right place for me to win. I’m pretty happy.”

“I saw Kristoff coming through but I knew I had the lead. I overtook Kristoff from my right and I was just concentrating on the line. I also spotted Groenewegen coming up in the last 50m, but finally the line was in the right place. So yes, this is a pretty satisfying win for me.

https://youtu.be/4REHTAltztQ?t=2466

Dubai Tour 2018 – stage 2 results (Skydive Dubai – Ras al Khaimah):

General classification after stage 2: