A crash in the peloton 3,400 meters from the finish and another on the final straight after Mezgec's breakaway attempt, with the sprinters' trains unraveling to catch the lone finisher and launch a sprint with only seven men. The finish of the fifth stage of the UAE Tour in Dubai was quite chaotic. An adjective that increasingly appears in riders' statements when talking about sprints.

Let's start with Tim Merlier's post-victory words: "After yesterday's stage, won again by Milan, we in Soudal Quick-Step talked extensively to understand what we were doing wrong. Today we had perfect positioning until the last kilometer, we were perfect in reacting to Mezgec's attack and avoiding the crash on the final straight (by the way, I hope they're okay) and I launched my sprint at the right moment. I knew how to wait for my moment and collected the maximum result. At the UAE Tour I'm already at 7 victories in 3 participations, I like racing in events like this or the Tour of Oman. As usual in today's cycling, the day flew by incredibly fast (48.752 km/h) and it's increasingly important to train your endurance, have teammates who can protect you perfectly and find the right positioning to keep you away from dangers."

This last theme echoes an interview given last week by a former teammate of Merlier: Fabio Jakobsen, who is currently participating in the UAE Tour with Picnic PostNL and who in 2020 risked his life due to Groenewegen's shoulder at the Tour de Pologne. Here's an excerpt of what Jakobsen told Rouleur: "Sprints are becoming increasingly crowded and chaotic, there are more and more teams and riders aiming to win sprint stages, today there are practically 25 men and about ten teams capable of reaching the top-10. When I started, there were fewer. I think sprint rules should be strengthened: I understand it's not easy to apply and might affect the tactics of some major trains. I'd propose doing like in Formula 1 where you can't change trajectory in curves. In a sprint, each rider must choose their line and stick to it, without being able to zigzag or move from left to right, putting those behind at risk. In my opinion, anyone who cuts off the path to stay on the wheel of someone in front should at least be warned. Reducing speed by reducing gears doesn't help: they would find ways to use shorter cranks and increase cadence. What's needed is to make speed less of a problem by defining clear rules and positioning barriers correctly."