ABU DHABI // Hundreds of spectators lined the Corniche on Friday afternoon to cheer home the riders on the second stage of theAbu Dhabi Tour.
Britain’s Mark Cavendish edged ahead of Italian Elia Viviani to win the stage and with it take the overall lead.
Abu Dhabi Tour ambassador Cavendish completed the stage in two hours, 32 minutes and 21 seconds. He prevailed in a tight sprint finish over Viviani with another Italian, Andrea Guardini, finishing third.
“I’m happy with that,” Cavendish said.
“We wanted to win today. I felt good. It was a very chaotic sprint in which I lost my lead-out in the second-last corner. I thought, ‘that’s it’, but we got back on.”
Spectators stood for hours along sections of the 115-kilometre route that started at Emirates Palace, passed several capital landmarks before finishing at the marina on the Corniche,.
“It was impressive to see the buildings, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and the towers and to finish in Al Marina,” Cavendish said.
Cycling fans Michael Smith, 27, and Chris Johnson, 36, were thrilled to watch Cavendish win. “He is one of the greatest cyclists, it’s so exciting to see him here,” Mr Smith said.
“The event is well organised and we could see the action on a video screen, too.”
Earvin Tumalad, 25, a Filipino sales co-ordinator, cheered for the two-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador.
“It’s such a big event that we shouldn’t miss it,” he said. “It’s a good day for cyclists like myself.”
Marc Vanderslyen, 46, stood near the finish line along with his children Noah, 14, Tessa, 10 and Micha, 7, and waved a Belgian flag to support countryman Greg Van Avermaet.
“He’s a gold medallist in the Olympics,” said Mr Vanderslyen, who drove to the capital from Dubai. “Maybe he will win tomorrow.”
Craig Brookestein, 46, operations manager of a sports company who also drove down from Dubai, rooted for Emirati Yousif Mirza.
“He is a UAE national champion who went on to represent the UAE and the Middle East in the Olympics, and he’s a good ambassador for the sport,” he said.
The spectators, many of them enthusiastic cyclists waved UAE flags, and said the race would help to grow the sport in the region.
Organisers described the weather conditions as ideal.
“The large number of spectators here gives us a good feeling about the success of the event so far,” said Aref Al Awani, general secretary of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council.
“The weather is fine, much better than last year. This is a tough race, and we did not want it to be just an entertaining race for the riders. We want it to feel that when they come here, it’s going to be tough and challenging.
“We promise that Stage 3 in Al Ain will also be challenging for all the riders.”
The route took in several of Abu Dhabi’s attractions beginning with Emirates Palace, down Khaleej Al Arabi Road, past the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, winding out into Khalifa City and then to Yas Island, Saadiyat and Reem islands and back into downtown with a finish along the Corniche.
Road closures for the tour did not cause major traffic congestion.
The riders head to Jebel Hafeet and cycle around Al Ain in the 150km stage on Saturday before the race concludes with 26 laps of the Yas Marina Formula One race circuit on Sunday.
rruiz@thenational.ae
