Milan takes advantage of Pogacar's perfect 'lead-out', holding off a later disqualified Philipsen in the first stage of UAE Tour

One of the highlights of the seventh edition of the UAE Tour was the return of Tadej Pogacar. The world champion from UAE Team Emirates - XRG had to win the race in the home country of the main sponsor after being absent for two editions. With a strong team, the Slovenian, who was rather vague at the press conference about a possible participation in Paris-Roubaix, seemed ready to blow away the competition.

However, day one did appear to be a day for the superstar. The course was relatively flat, although quite a few small bumps were scattered across the course. The finish was also tricky, with an uphill stretch to the end. One could still expect a sprint, and with the outstanding list of participants (including Jonathan Milan, Tim Merlier, Dylan Groenewegen, and Jasper Philipsen at the start), it would be a fantastic sprint spectacle. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be Olav Kooij, as he felt under the weather and failed to show himself.

At the start of the first stage, which began in a field full of solar panels, three men immediately set off. Manuele Tarozzi and Federico Biagini (both VF Group - Bardiani CSF - Faizanè) made it a duo time trial, although they were also joined by the Panamanian Carlos Samudio (Team Solution Tech - Vini Fantini). The three of them set off on an adventure in the high winds of the desert, where they built up a lead of up to three minutes. However, The sprinters' teams were eager for a final sprint, so they were gradually caught up.

Tarozzi took off again and left his fellow breakaway riders behind. Suddenly, his lead was back up to over two minutes. But the fast men's teams were happy with the situation: Lidl-Trek and Soudal Quick-Step rode along at their relaxed pace. The pace picked up as the finish line drew closer, and the lead began to shrink.

With ten kilometers to go, the lone Italian saw that his struggle was useless. He gave up his attempt and let himself be caught, which increased the pack's nervousness. This caused a crash. Juan Sebastian Molano crashed into Pogacar's wheel after he fell over due to a moment of inattention. The lone sprinter from UAE Team Emirates—XRG was thus unable to compete for the victory. Fortunately, everyone remained on their bikes for the rest of the race.

In the final kilometers, which were on an incline, Tudor took the lead ahead of Arvid de Kleijn, but Philipsen's train was also well positioned. Pogacar suddenly joined the sprint and was the first to sprint. The world champion was too eager for the tough finish and dropped back, after which Milan took over. The Italian started very early, but Philipsen and Fisher-Black could not catch him. The Belgian was seen in the final meters, for which he was later disqualified, with the accompanying yellow card as punishment.