World champion puts GC rivals under pressure on stage 4 as echelons form on exposed desert roads
Tadej Pogacar was an aggressor in the crosswinds of stage 4 of the UAE Tour(Image credit: Getty Images)
Tadej Pogačar and his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates further showed off their dominance as they put his GC rivals under serious pressure on stage 4 of the UAE Tour and lit up racing in the crosswinds.
The Emirati squad were one of several teams who contributed to splitting the race at 57km to go and 16km to go, alongside Alpecin-Deceuninck and Lidl-Trek, as vital changes of direction meant the wind was perfect for echelons to form.
Defending champion in the UAE, Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto), Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and runner-up on Jebel Jais Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) were all forced to commit riders in the chase at times as they missed the front echelon Pogačar was part of.
Such was his dominance that, during the first series of splits, which opened at 57km to go, only one rider within five minutes of Pogačar's GC lead managed to make it into the first group — his teammate Jay Vine.
The world champion assured it wasn't about trying to gain time that UAE were so involved, but mainly came from a safety perspective. Keeping front position in the peloton meant he was away from risk and able to respond to any splits that the wind and exposed roads of the UAE gave rise to.
"Staying safe now and not losing time," Pogačar said bluntly as the reason for his moves in the wind and random attack 130km from the finish. Speaking during his press conference, he did then clarify that he was, of course, enjoying tearing things up in the bunch in the red leader's jersey.
"I mean, if you're in the front, you're having fun, and if you're in the second group you're definitely not having fun.
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"It's on these kinds of days where you need to stay concentrated. You need to have a good team around you and good legs. You cannot fall asleep at any moment, and then you can have a good time."
Although racing may have come back together in the final 3.2km, Pogačar again asserted his superiority at his team's home race. He now just has two sprint stages to navigate before the final GC decider up Jebel Hafeet on Sunday, when he'll look to confirm a third title in the UAE.
Vermeersch, Bjerg and Pogačar issue stark warning for the Classics
Florian Vermeersch and Mikkel Bjerg on stage 4 (Image credit: Getty Images)
Before the race, UAE Sports Manager Joxean Fernández Matxin told Cyclingnews that "Belgian power" would be key to keeping Pogačar safe in the chaos that UAE sprint stages can bring. After playing vital roles in controlling the pace before Pogačar's Jebel Jais victory on Wednesday, new Belgian signings Florian Vermeersch and Rune Herregodts were back in their favoured conditions and showed off the expertise in the wind that all Flemish riders tend to possess.
"It was nice, we were always in the front and when it split, we were always there," Vermeersch told Cyclingnews at the finish line.
"In this situation, when it's windy, it's best that you control the race from the very front. We tried to participate in every split so that was really, really fun actually. There were some good crosswinds, I liked it.
"I think that Tadej has the same mentality, in his opinion, it's better to make the race hard and stay in the front like this, and it's better than always being on the back foot."
Vermeersch is riding his first race alongside Pogačar at the UAE Tour after signing from Lotto in the summer. The pair are already getting along well and they swapped turns on the front with Mikkel Bjerg in the final 16km to keep the pressure on their rivals.
"It's been really enjoyable so far [to race with Pogačar]. We've made the race hard ourselves, and yeah, it's been a pleasure," continued Vermeersch, who is back at his best after missing most of the 2024 season due to a broken femur.
"It's just super nice to have the legs, you know, it's such a pleasure to ride like this. I feel like I'm always with the strongest for the moment, especially on the flat when it's really hard. Being able to make the race hard yourself is something that a cyclist loves the most and I'm in a good position right now."
The former Paris-Roubaix runner-up and Bjerg will be vital cogs in Pogačar's Classics squad in the spring, and together they issued an ominous warning for those who will look to challenge Pogačar when he returns to the bergs and hellingen of the E3 Saxo Classic, Gent-Wevelgem and the Tour of Flanders.
After their impressive showing on the open roads from Fujairah Qidfa Beach to Umm al Quwain, Pogačar also said that the echelon practice "serves as good preparation for what is coming", looking ahead to those days in Belgium.
James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews as a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, and American Football to name a few.
