Abu Dhabi: Italian Manuele Mori of the now UAE Team Emirates had been with Lampre for long enough to know how his team was faring.

The 36-year-old had been setting the pace and even led from the front for the UAE Team in the first two stages of the Abu Dhabi Tour.

He was in the early breakaways of the stages and kept pressing till the end to try and provide his British sprinter Ben Swift and Italian Diego Ulissi the perfect platform for the final surges.

Despite that, the stage wins had eluded Team Emirates until Friday. But, Mori was sure it was all a matter of time as the team under new owners was making tremendous progress.

“My role has been to take charge at the beginning and try to help my teammates. That’s what the team management wants me to do and I’m happy doing that,” said Mori, who won both the intermediate sprints in the first stage.

“It was good to win those intermediate sprints but I consumed a lot of energy is achieving that. However, during stage two I felt good and it shows I’m getting into shape with every passing day,” said Mori adding that his teammates were also heading in the right direction.

“The same is case of the team and we all are making improvements. We have tried to implement strategies and my move to be in the breakaway was a part of it. We are trying to make the most in each stage and third stage is the key and we are targeting it,” said Mori, a veteran of nine seasons with the same team, ahead of the third stage.

Mori had backed his skipper Rui Costa to do well on Saturday and the latter did not disappoint.

Costa, who won two stages at the Tour of Oman showed he had the legs by leading from the front in the last kilometres of the gruelling climb to conquer Jebel Hafeet. He enjoyed a lead of 16 seconds with 2kms from finish with only Team Katusha Alpecin’s Ilnur Zakarin for company. Zakarin, in the last kilometre, went ahead but Costa stayed by his tail and once he stepped up the pace, the Russian gave up on his chase. Having gained vital time, Mori and his team only need to ensure a clean finish in the lead pack in the last sprint stage at the Yas Marina Circuit to clinch the Abu Dhabi Tour on Sunday.