Dubai: Juan Lobato del Valle of the Movistar Team conquered the 172km leg-numbing, hairpin climbs of Hatta, located on the Hajar mountains, to win the third stage of the Dubai Tour on Friday.
After a thumb-sucking celebration, an ecstatic del Valle said, “I’m extremely delighted with the win. The climb to the finish was tough and things kept changing a lot in the last three kilometres. All credit to my team who placed me well.”
The Spaniard added that Team BMC and Sky made it tough but he had the legs to get home.
Despite the win and 10 bonus seconds, Del Valle, who clocked 4:13.23, will not have his hands on the Blue jersey - as it belongs to Giacomo Nizzolo of Trek-Segafredo, who was second to the line. Silvan Diller of BMC was third, another four seconds off Del Valle.
Nizzolo was rewarded for the consistency he showed all through the three stages. He had two third place finishes after two stages and now heads for the final 137km Business Bay Stage leading the general classification with a time of 11:56.11.
However, the race is far from over as this edge is a mere two seconds over Del Valle and six over the ‘Big German’ Marcel Kittel, who surprised everyone by showing that he can be a good climber as well by finishing fifth – two places behind Swiss ace Fabian Cancellara and Belgian Philippe Gilbert.
“After two flat stages, where I was third, to be again on the podium today is a great pleasure. We will fight a lot to keep the jersey. We are ready,” said a visibly pleased Nizzolo.
It was another disappointing day for defending champion Mark Cavendish. The Briton, who was slapped with a 200 Swiss francs (Dh740) fine by the Intergration of the Jury Communique for his unseemly behaviour during stage two of the Dubai Tour, got entangled behind a crash at the final stretch on Thursday and had to stop just into the descent with problems with his bike.
By the time he got back on his bike, the pack had pulled away with a good four minute lead and Cavendish’s race was virtually over - 10 km from the finish.
A disappointed Cavendish tweeted immediately after the race: “Not often I’m top 15 over a decisive climb. So when I’m, a puncture on the descent is a good way to bring me back down to earth.”
The final stage today through the old and new Dubai township is a classic, with just a few changes compared to last year. It is tailor-made for the sprinters, and Kittel and his Quick-Step team, having worked so well in stage three, will fancy their chances of clinching the overall title.
Whatever the case, cycling fans in the UAE can expect a nail-biting finish in front of the world’s tallest building Burj Khalifa.
