Caleb Ewan won the bunch sprint in Stage 4 of the UAE Tour at the uphill finish of Hatta Dam that always guarantees a thrilling finale.
The diminutive Australian took his first win for Lotto Soudal ahead of the Italian neo-pro Matteo Moschetti of Trek – Segafredo and Primoz Roglic, who extended his lead thanks to the third-place time bonus, while World Champion Alejandro Valverde was hampered by a crash with 6.5km to go and thus couldn’t make it two in a row.
Ewan said: “My advantage over the other sprinters today is that their weight is about 80kg and I’m only 67, so my power-to-weight ratio is better for such a climb at 17%. I knew I had to start the climb no further than fifth or sixth position. Kristoff started and once I found the right gear I could pass him. Before that, when the last crash happened, I was already at the front. Today’s win is a good sign ahead of Milan-Sanremo which is my main goal of the first part of the year.”
The Red Jersey, Primoz Roglic, said: “I felt the heat today but I was always well protected from the wind by my teammates. Caleb Ewan was the strongest today. He won easily. I just wanted to go as fast as possible to the finish. Every day can be decisive, so I’ll work on keeping the jersey with the team tomorrow before I make plans for Friday’s uphill finish.”
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