Abu Dhabi: Giacomo Nizzolo celebrated victory in the first stage of the Abu Dhabi Tour on Thursday with his arms outstretched, before pointing at himself in a gesture which ostensibly declared: “I’m the man”.
And how the Italian national champion (Trek-Segafredo) deserved to exult after producing a blistering sprint finish into Madinat Zayed to outpace a host of exalted names and earn the right to wear the race leader’s red jersey.
He stormed home in a time of three hours, 15 minutes and 49 seconds in what was an exhilarating start to the second annual cycling showpiece in the capital.
John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) came home in second at the start of the 555-kilometre extravaganza, with the Abu Dhabi Tour ambassador Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) third.
Nizzolo leads Degenkolb in the 18-team, four-stage race by four seconds overall thanks to his winner’s time bonus after the 147km Adnoc stage, which started and finished at Madinat Zayed and headed out into the Western Region desert.
For the euphoric 27-year-old, it continued his fine form after he finished fifth at the UCI Road World Championships in Doha last weekend.
“After the Worlds on Sunday, I said I wanted to end the season with a victory and that’s the best way to start the Abu Dhabi Tour,” he said. “With 20 kilometres to go, when I saw the gap to the four breakaway riders was still so big, I decided to put one guy [Niccolo Bonifazio] to the front and it was the right thing to do.
“Everyone knows the big names that are in contention here, so I’m obviously very happy to beat them. The temperature was quite high at the beginning of the race but, coming from the World Championships, I was used to it, and after half-way into the race, it was much better and not a problem for me.”
There was also cause for delight for the UAE, meanwhile, with home hero Yousuf Mirza finishing 15th, a place ahead of the 2016 Olympic gold medallist Elia Viviani.
Mirza, who also competed at the Rio Games in the road race, is a member of the Al Nasr Pro Cycling Team-Dubai, who are making their Abu Dhabi Tour debut after only being launched at the start of the year.
His teammate Jaber Al Mansoori also performed creditably by finishing in 40th place out of the 106 starters, enjoying the distinction of beating the two-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador (55) into the bargain.
The four other Al Nasr riders competing were Majid Al Balooshi (61), Ahmad Al Mansoori (71), Badr Al Hammadi (73) and Nasser Al Memari (105).
Friday’s Nation Towers Stage — the shortest of the four stages at 115km — starts at 2.10pm at Emirates Palace and finishes at Al Marina on the Corniche.
After the start, the course heads down Khaleej Al Arabi Road, passing the Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque, winding out into Khalifa City and then Yas Island, to Saadiyat and Reem Islands and back through the city to the Corniche.
For more information on the event, visit www.abudhabitour.com.
Abu Dhabi Sports is broadcasting live television coverage of the race in the Mena region.
RESULTS
Abu Dhabi Tour 2016, stage one: Madinat Zayed to Madinat Zayed, 147km
1. Giacomo Nizzolo (ITA) Trek-Segafredo in 3-15-59
2. John Degenkolb (GER) Giant-Alpecin
3. Mark Cavendish (GBR) Dimension Data
4. Magnus Cort Nielsen (DEN) Orica-BikeExchange
5. Christopher Latham (GBR) Team Wiggins
6. Michael Kolar (SVK) Tinkoff
7. Roman Maikin (RUS) Gazprom-Rusvelo
8. Marco Coledean (ITA) Trek-Segafredo
9. Jean-Pierre Drucker (LUX) BMC Racing
10. Ramon Sinkeldam (NED) Giant-Alpecin all same time
General classification after stage one
1. Giacomo Nizzolo (ITA) Trek-Segafredo in 3-15-49
2. John Degenkolb (GER) Giant-Alpecin at 4 secs
3. Mark Cavendish (GBR) Dimension Data at 6 secs
4. Jens Keukeleire (BEL) Orica-BikeExchange at 7 secs
5. Dion Smith (NZL) One Pro Cycling at 9 secs
6. Magnus Cort Nielsen (DEN) Orica-BikeExchange at 10 secs
7. Christopher Latham (GBR) Team Wiggins at 10 secs
8. Michael Kolar (SVK) Tinkoff at 10 secs
9. Roman Maikin (RUS) Gazprom-Rusvelo at 10 secs
10. Marco Coledean (ITA) Trek-Segafredo at 10 secs
JERSEYS
• RED JERSEY, sponsored by Abu Dhabi Sports Council (General Classification by time) — Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo)
• GREEN JERSEY, sponsored by Nation Towers (General Classification by points) — Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo)
• WHITE JERSEY, sponsored by Abu Dhabi Sports (Best Young Rider, born after 1 January 1991) — Dion Smith (One Pro Cycling)
• BLACK JERSEY, sponsored by Etihad (Intermediate Sprint Classification) — Jens Keukeleire (Orica — BikeExchange)
