UAE keeps going: Blasting rivals aside at Tour Down Under with spectacular first and second place

The first road stage on Wednesday had been won by Tobias Lund Andresen, but expectations were that Thursday’s profile—with plenty of climbing—would be too tough for the fast men. Riders with general classification ambitions would have their first chance to shine on a course with serious climbing.

Seven riders went clear in the opening phase, including Dutchman Pepijn Reinderink. The Soudal Quick-Step rider was first over the opening climb and thus collected good points in the battle for the King of the Mountains. The seven’s advantage gradually came down, but they still enjoyed several minutes’ lead on the peloton for a long time.

Next up were two ascents of the Corkscrew Road climb, the sting in the tail of this stage. Narváez, last year’s overall winner, punctured right on the first slopes of the first climb. At the front, Reinderink was first over the top as earlier in the day.

But the peloton was already on the move, and so the gap to the escapees was under one minute. It was Decathlon CMA CGM and UAE Team Emirates-XRG setting the pace at the front. In the run-up to the second Corkscrew Road climb, the breakaway was definitively caught and we were set up for a fine finale.

In that finale, Adam Yates was the first to lay down a blistering tempo, dropping riders like Jack Haig and Luke Plapp. It built into a UAE masterclass as Vine and Narváez rode away together. The pair immediately built a strong lead and soon looked gone.

Spinning around worked fine and so the Australian and the rider from Ecuador built up their lead further and further. No one saw them again, leaving only the question of who could have the victory. That would eventually be Vine, who crossed the finish line first to the applause of Narváez.

They rotated well and steadily extended their advantage. No one saw them again, leaving only the question of who would take the victory. Ultimately, it was Vine who crossed the line first under applause from Narváez. Vine also took the leader’s jersey thanks to bonus seconds, with a six-second lead over Narváez.

The first and second places for the UAE were impressive, given that the third-placed rider on the day, Mauro Schmid, was 58 seconds behind. Those are substantial gaps in the Tour Down Under; UAE keeps going.