Jonathan Milan completed victory in a stage 4 sprint, just as he did on the opening day, to secure his second win in the UAE Tour on Thursday.
The Lidl-Trek rider edged out Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in a three-way photo finish in the 181km route from Fujairah Qidfa Beach to Umm Al Quwain.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider Tadej Pogacar retained his 18-second lead in the leader’s red jersey over second-placed Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) after enjoying a relatively stress-free day, staying safe in the echelons that caught out many of his major rivals.
“As a team spirit and teamwork, the guys did great job, an amazing job from everybody and because of them I stayed safe today and we keep the red jersey,” the reigning world champion said.
“Today, also a lot of accelerations, a lot of efforts done, so it was really not easy stage. Let's see if tomorrow if it’s going to be the same or will be more combats.
“With still three days to go, for sure it's going to be more action to come. But it’s been so far so good for me.”
Milan was the first to attack on the sprint to the finish line and the Italian had enough power to hold Merlier and Philipsen for the win.
“I think I started [my sprint] a bit too early, but in the end, the photo finish gave me win,” Milan said soon after the stage.
“Like always, I have to thank my teammates, super happy about it. The echelons always make everything a bit more interesting, no? I like them, and they’re really important for the Classics. You [get] a bit of experience, how to move, how to be careful about them.
“We were always ready for them, and I think we moved in a perfect way today. When you move like this with this team, it’s almost easy to bring this type of result, so really happy and proud of all my team-mates.
“We are here to reach our best and to win as much as possible, so yeah, we’ll enjoy this victory and tomorrow we’ll see again.”
Milan, with two stage victories across four days, appears to be the sprinter to watch in the seventh edition of the race.
“It was a bit better than the first day and I have to say, like always, thanks to my guys,” the Italian added after the race.
“Going through the finish line is one thing but there is some big teamwork behind it. I attacked in the last 250 metres. I thought I attacked too early, but I was feeling good and came through my pace.
“I saw Merlier coming up really fast in the last few metres and luckily, I made it first.
“In the last few kilometres we knew that it was important to stay in the front. We moved I think in the best way as we could, and we came out with a fantastic job.”
Milan will be looking to add another win when they go into the 160km stage 5 in Dubai on Friday.
“Of course, this win gives a lot of confidence to me and to all my teammates,” he said .
“Also, for them (team), they showed how strong they are, and they have to be confident to watch me too.”
Stage 4 results:
1. Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), 4hrs 03min 01sec
2. Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) s.t.
3. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) s.t.
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates – XRG)
2. Joshua Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) at 18″
3. Pablo Castrillo (Movistar Team) at 23″
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
General%20Classification
%3Cp%3E1.%20Elisa%20Longo%20Borghini%20(ITA)%20Trek-Segafredo%3Cbr%3E2.%20Gaia%20Realini%20(ITA)%20Trek-Segafredo%207%20secs%3Cbr%3E3.%20Silvia%20Persico%20(ITA)%20UAE%20Team%20ADQ%201%20min%2018%20secs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
'Will%20of%20the%20People'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EArtist%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMuse%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELabel%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EWarner%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
RESULTS
Men
1 Marius Kipserem (KEN) 2:04:04
2 Abraham Kiptum (KEN) 2:04:16
3 Dejene Debela Gonfra (ETH) 2:07:06
4 Thomas Rono (KEN) 2:07:12
5 Stanley Biwott (KEN) 2:09:18
Women
1 Ababel Yeshaneh (ETH) 2:20:16
2 Eunice Chumba (BRN) 2:20:54
3 Gelete Burka (ETH) 2:24:07
4 Chaltu Tafa (ETH) 2:25:09
5 Caroline Kilel (KEN) 2:29:14
Friday’s fixture
6.15pm: Al Wahda v Hatta
6.15pm: Al Dhafra v Ajman
9pm: Al Wasl v Baniyas
9pm: Fujairah v Sharjah
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Biog:
Age: 34
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite sport: anything extreme
Favourite person: Muhammad Ali
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes.
Where to stay
Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
