With a finish on a short but very sharp climb, it was Juan Jose Lobato who won the day but Giacomo Nizzolo now leads the race
DubaiTour – win for Lobato on Hatta Dam
Photo: ANSA – PERI / DAL ZENNARO
Following a busy, productive winter and after not finding the good luck he needed to repeat his success Down Under, Juanjo Lobato was finally able to dedicate a win to his 3-month-old son José on Friday, raising his arms victorious for the first time in 2016 atop the Hatta Dam on stage three of the Dubai Tour (172km).
The Trebujena-born rider comfortably beat Giacomo Nizzolo (TFS) and Silvan Dillier (BMC) to claim his 12th success in the pro scene, the Movistar Team’s second in 2016 and the first for Spanish cycling this season.
Juanjo Lobato: “This victory makes me immensely excited and happy – I owe everything to my team-mates for their support. We knew we had to stay calm until the downhill after the last climb and give everything afterwards. They all were phenomenal in the finale, just like throughout the race. I knew the climb from last year’s finish and it was one that really liked and suited me. I learnt there that being in a good position into that last corner right was crucial; last year I couldn’t get things done right, but this time was the good one.
“I’ve worked really hard during the winter and this is a reward for that sacrifice, a proof that my condition is perfect at the moment and an extra boost of morale for the spring. I want to do well in the classics – it’s been long spoken about Sanremo and me; the team likes the race, I personally love it and I want to keep that form coming. I put too much pressure on myself last season and couldn’t be up there – let’s hope we make it in 2016. I also think about those other classics: Gent-Wevelgem, De Ronde… I won’t focus entirely on them, to avoid that pressure, but I’d still like to give them a try.
“For the time being, I’m already very happy to get my first win of the season here. Tomorrow? Let’s hope I still stand a chance to win overall; I’m happy with today’s success, but last year I took more risks into that flat finish and even got a 3rd place. You never know; it’s still at my reach.
“This victory is a tribute to my son, José, born three months ago, and Adriano Malori. I hope he can return to Italy soon and recover perfectly well. Everyone at this team thinks of him everyday.”
THE STAGE
The third day of the race featured a long escape led by Francisco Mancebo (Skydive Dubai), who was joined by five riders: Chun Kai Feng (Lampre-Merida), David Lozano Riba (Novo Nordisk), Andrew Tennant (Team Wiggins), Hayden McCormick (One Pro Cycling) and Essaid Abelouache (Al Nasr).
With the Hatta Dam finish in the last 200 meters, it was pretty clear that the peloton won’t give them green light to go all the way, so the break was caught with 12 kilometers before the finish. As the race heated up, Laurens De Vreese (Astana), Lieuwe Westra (Astana) and Ben Swift (Sky) attacked on a fast descent and managed to get 10 seconds in hand, but the main group came back strong, riding at a crazy speed in the run-in to the finale.
On the double-digit gruesome climb of Hatta Dam, Juan Jose Lobato (Movistar) made his move and powered away from a severely reduced peloton, taking the victory with a 2-second gap over Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek Factory-Segafredo) and Silvan Dillier (BMC).
Nizzolo sprints into the race lead in Dubai
Giacomo Nizzolo gave everything up the final short but painfully steep climb towards the Hatta Dam to finish in second place and leap into the overall lead in the Dubai Tour Friday. “To be honest, I didn’t know this finish, and I thought it was a bit longer, ” explained Nizzolo.
“When we hit the last corner, I had in front of me only [Philippe] Gilbert and Fabian, so I was waiting a bit. When I saw Lobato coming from behind, then I thought, ‘Ah, maybe the finish is very close, so I’d better go!”
“It’s a pity to be second again, but still I can say I am happy because I have been on the podium in the two flat stages and today again on an uphill finish,” added Nizzolo. “And I am in the leader’s jersey – that’s also good news! It will be hard tomorrow, but first we will enjoy tonight and tomorrow we will see.”
Kittel climbing well
With help from his teammates who rode hard at the front in the last 15 kilometers and made sure of getting him in a good position, Marcel Kittel crossed the line in 6th place, just 4 seconds off the pace.
Victorious on stage 1, the 27-year-old rider of Etixx – Quick-Step proved once again his condition and strong motivation in this start of the season, and remains in the cards to win the third edition of the race.
“As we didn’t have to defend the blue jersey, we took a more relaxed approach throughout the day and stayed more in the background, in order to save as much energy as possible. Our focus was on the finish, to make it into the front for the uphill sprint. Things went really well, we worked as a team, and I’m quite happy with my result. Everything is still possible tomorrow and we are very motivated to give it all”, said the German after the penultimate stage.
Marcel Kittel now lies third in the general classification, just 6 seconds behind Giacolo Nizzolo, the new leader of the Dubai Tour.
Fourth Overall for BMC’s Silvan Dillier
Diller from BMC sits fourth overall on the General Classification, 12 seconds behind new race leader Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo). His teammate Gilbert is in sixth place, 21 seconds behind.
“It was a pretty hectic finish with some corners and speed bumps. We tried to stay calm until the last moment. I felt really good, I tried to stay with the team. Unfortunately I lost the wheel of Samuel Sánchez who did a really good job in getting us through the peloton smoothly and put Phil in a good position at the bottom of the climb”.
“In the end I got third. It was a nice effort at the end and hopefully I gained a few places in the GC,” Dillier said. “The whole day it was a little bit windy and stressful as you’re never sure what’s going to happen so you need to be focused all the time, and always have some power on the pedals.”
“My shape is good and I’m also on track with my Track World Championships preparation. I feel good. Yesterday was a nice stage in the breakaway and then today finishing third, so all good so far.”
The last day of the Middle East event (Dubai – Burj Khalifa, 137 kilometers) is going to be a flat one, in which the sprinters will fight for the bonus seconds that will decide the overall winner.
Results
Blue Jersey, (General individual classification by time) – Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek – Segafredo)
Red Jersey, (General individual classification by points) – Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek – Segafredo)
White Jersey, (Best Young Rider born after 1 January 1991) – Soutane Haddi (Skydive Dubai Pro)
UAE Flag Jersey, (Intermediate Sprint Jersey Classification) – Marcin Bialoblocki (One Pro)
STAGE 3
1. Juan Jose Lobato, Movistar 4:13:23
2. Giacomo Nizzolo, Trek-Segafredo 0:02
3. Silvan Dilier, BMC Racing 0:04
4. Fabian Cancellara, Trek-Segafredo
5. Philippe Gilbert, BMC Racing
6. Marcel Kittel, Etixx-QuickStep
7. Gorka Izagirre, Movistar 0:07
8. Daniele Bennati, Tinkoff
9. Davide Rebellin, CCC Sprandi Polkowice
10. Matteo Trentin, Etixx-QuickStep 0:11
17. Ben Swift, Team Sky 0:27
25. Elia Viviani, Team Sky 0:32
30. Mark Christian, Team Wggins 0:40
35. Chris Opie, One Pro 0:44
47. Peter Williams, One Pro 1:25
53. Jonathan Dibben 1:33
56. Boy Van Poppel, Trek-Segafredo 1:52
64. Liam Holohoan, Team Wiggins 2:18
71. Marcin Biablocki, One Pro 2:24
73. Owain Doull, Team WIggins 2:29
76. Yanto Barker, One Pro 2:29
80. Alex Dowsett, Movistar 3:05
92. Daniel Patten, Team Wiggins 4:05
93. Mark Cavendish, Dimension Data 5:15
104. Bradley Wiggins, Team Wiggins 5:35
105. Matt Brammeier, Dimension Data R 5:35
120. Andy Fenn, Team Sky 11:09
122. Andrew Tennant, Team Wiggins 12:34
OVERALL
1. Giacomo Nizzolo, Trek-Segafredo 11:56:11
2. Juan Jose Lobato, Movistar 0:00:02
3. Marcel Kittel, Etixx-QuickStep 0:00:06
4. Silvan Dilier, BMC Racing 0:00:12
5. Gorka Izagirre, Movistar 0:00:19
6. Philippe Gilbert, BMC Racing 0:00:21
7. Fabian Cancellara, Trek-Segafredo
8. Daniele Bennati, Tinkoff 0:00:24
9. Davide Rebellin, CCC Sprandi Polkowice
10. Soufiane Haddi, Skidive Dubai 0:00:25
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