Viviani pips Van Poppel, takes lead

Abu Dhabi : Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) won an easy sprint on the second stage of the Abu Dhabi Tour, also taking the race lead. Second on the day went to Danny van Poppel (LottoNL-Jumbo) with Pascal Ackermann (Bora-hansgrohe) third.

The win moved Viviani to the top of the GC, tied on time with now-second-ranked Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates), with Van Poppel in third at four seconds.

“I need to break the ice on the first day of a stage race. Usually, I don’t win the first sprint. It’s been the case again but I was very confident today. Also in the echelons, I felt strong and I was willing to pull. We had Julian Alaphilippe and Enric Mas in the front group,” Viviani said.

“It was good for our GC but we also wanted to win the stage, so I asked the guys to wait for me and close the gap. When we regrouped with 20km to go, I said we put all our efforts into the last corner. The young Alvaro Hodeg is unbelievable in his preparation for my sprint. Michael Morkov is always in the right place and I trust Fabio Sabatini 100 per cent for the lead out. With such a team, it was easy for me to finish it off.”

A five-man break group dominated the first half of the race, but they were caught again at the feed zone. 

Movistar and Katusha-Alpecin took advantage of crosswinds to rip the race wide open, dropping not only race leader Alexander Kristoff (UAE Emirates) but several GC candidates. 

After a furious chase, the race finally came back together within the final 20 kilometers, leading to the expected mass sprint finish. 

Abu Dhabi Tour: Results

Stage two: Yas Mall to Yas Beach, 154km

1. Elia Viviani (Ita) Quick-Step Floors, in 3 hrs 15 min 30 secs

2. Danny van Poppel (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo

3. Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe

4. Kristoffer Halvorsen (Nor) Team Sky

5. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott

6. Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Team Sunweb

7. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates

8. Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Bahrain-Merida

9. Rudy Barbier (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale

10. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data, all at same time

General classification

1. Elia Viviani (Ita) Quick-Step Floors, in 8 hrs 03 min 44 secs 

2. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates, at same time

3. Danny van Poppel (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo, at 4 secs

4. Andrea Guardini (Ita) Bardiani CSF, at same time

5. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott, at 6 secs