Merlier starts his season perfectly, winning AlUla Tour opening stage with ease, and De Kleijn suffers nasty crash

The AlUla Tour, formerly known as the Saudi Tour, is a multi-day race in Saudi Arabia. Last year, Simon Yates claimed overall victory, but the event is often a haven for sprinters. This year’s start list featured many top sprinters, including Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla), as was European champion Tim Merlier. Also in attendance are Fabio Jakobsen (Picnic PostNL), Arvid de Kleijn (Tudor Pro Cycling), and Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility).

The opening stage was flat, so the sprinters had it marked on their calendars. It was a relatively calm day, perfect for easing into the race. Six riders decided to spice things up early on by breaking away, including Alexandre Vinokourov (XDS Astana). However, the breakaway was kept on a tight leash and never gained much of a gap. At about twenty kilometers from the finish, their adventure was over. Meanwhile, Merlier suffered a puncture, but the Soudal Quick-Step leader (who is going to the Tour de France) managed to rejoin the peloton quickly, even before the breakaway was caught.

The peloton was mainly led by four teams: Soudal-Quick Step, Jayco AlUla, Tudor Pro Cycling, and Picnic PostNL controlled the race throughout. An intermediate sprint added a brief moment of action, with Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) making a move, in an effort to grab bonus seconds. However, it was Fredrik Dversnes (Uno-X) who took three seconds, with Frank van den Broek (Picnic PostNL) grabbing one.

As the sprinters prepared for the final showdown, tension rose, and this ultimately led to a crash. Arvid de Kleijn hit the ground, and he remained seated for a while after the incident. Alexander Kristoff and Rafal Majka were also involved. Majka, who had been aiming for the overall classification in Saudi Arabia, saw his chances vanish into thin air. Despite the chaos, the sprint itself remained largely unaffected, as most of the sprinters stayed near the front.

Picnic PostNL did a great job in the closing stages, while Merlier initially appeared to be too far back. He may have been slightly delayed by the crash but worked his way forward efficiently. Launching his sprint from a long distance, Merlier rode his way to victory with ease, leaving his competitors far behind. Juan Sebastian Molano finished second, while Maikel Zijlaard, who had to replace De Kleijn as Tudor’s sprinter, claimed third.