An absolutely extraordinary demonstration of power! Jonathan Milan wins the first stage of the UAE Tour, the Madinat Zayed Shams Solar Park - Liwa Palace of 138 km, and does so in a powerful manner. On the headwind straight, the Friulian from Lidl Trek launched an incredibly long sprint following world champion Tadej Pogacar's progression and powered all the way to the finish line, forcing all his opponents to surrender, starting with Jasper Philipsen who in the final dozens of meters literally sat on his saddle, exhausted to the point of hindering the comeback of New Zealander Fisher-Black, who finished third. Shortly after the finish, the Belgian was downgraded with Fisher-Black taking second place and Danish rider Tobias Lund Andersen third, with Tadej Pogacar entering the top ten's last position.

Yet it wasn't a perfect sprint for the Lidl Trek train: at the enormous roundabout preceding the last kilometer, Milan lost Consonni's wheel, who turned back several times looking for him without success. However, the Friulian giant managed on his own, first finding the ideal position, then making his way to the center of the road and finally following Pogacar's wheel, which proved to be the right one.

That this wasn't a typical sprinters' stage is also evidenced by the finishing order, as behind Milan (and Philipsen) there are not pure sprinters but attackers who often perform best when the road gets tough.

THE RACE. From the start, Federico Biagini and Manuele Tarozzi from VF Group Bardiani CSF Faizan and Carlos Samudio, a Panamanian from Team Solution Tech - Vini Fantini, broke away. The peloton always kept them at a safe distance, and their advantage never rose above two minutes. The last to surrender, just over 11 km from the finish, was Manuele Tarozzi, after which the teams of the big names took control of the situation.

FINISHING ORDER

1. Milan Jonathan (Lidl-Trek) in 03:31:34
2. Fisher-Black Finn (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe)
3. Lund Andresen Tobias (Team Picnic PostNL)
4. Van Eetvelt Lennert (Lotto)
5. Onley Oscar (Team Picnic PostNL)
6. Gate Aaron (XDS Astana Team)
7. Tejada Harold (XDS Astana Team)
8. Taminiaux Lionel (Lotto)
9. Bauhaus Phil (Bahrain Victorious)
10. Pogacar Tadej (UAE Emirates XRG)