Astana’s Lutsenko finishes in main group of UAE Tour Stage 4

NUR-SULTAN. KAZINFORM - After yesterday’s tough uphill finish and the battle between the GC favorites, today’s stage brought the peloton back on the flat roads near Dubai. The fourth stage of 173 km started near Zabeel Park and finished on the streets of Dubai at Dubai City Walk, Kazinform has learnt from the club’s press service.

The stage was characterized by a windy weather, so all teams tried to keep their concentration high to avoid any troubles with the echelons.

Astana Pro Team worked a lot in front of the group, protecting Alexey Lutsenko from the wind and keeping him away from any possible problem. So, everything ended well, and the Kazakh champion finished safety in the main group.

«The sprinters were motivated to control the stage, so for us the main goal was to protect our leader Alexey Lutsenko. The day was quite windy and thus, it was important to keep the situation in the race under control. The team was phenomenal today and we did this stage in the best possible way. Now, we are looking forward to another summit finish at tomorrow’s stage,» said Dmitriy Fofonov.

The stage ended with a massive sprint, won by the Dutch rider Dylan Groenewegen.

The stage results did not introduce any serious change in the general classification of the UAE Tour: Adam Yates still leads the race, while Alexey Lutsenko keeps his third position, +1.35 behind the leader.

Stage 5 will bring the peloton again in the mountains with another summit finish atop Jebel Hafeet (162 km).