Emirates triplet in the UAE Tour time trial with McNulty, Vine and Bjerg

More than two hours in the hot seat is a long way. Time to chat with family on your phone, smile in front of the cameras and even wear superhero gear, Captain America style. It was the boredom that he had to pay for Brandon McNulty for his impressive victory in the second stage of the UAE Tour, Spearheading a great performance from UAE team Emirates, who snuck past the American Three first places both went to Jay Vine (2.) like Mikkel Bjerg (3.). Eighth victory of the course for the Emirati team, third on the personal record of a McNulty who has started the year like a shot and after the victory is aiming for his second overall victory in a row Valencian Community.

When the first group of runners started, one thing was clear. The UAE had the upper hand at home. At the first timed point on the route, which was completely flat for 12.1 km, Brandon McNulty, Jay Vine and Mikkel Bjerg took the top three spots. They carried this performance over to the second half of the course in the same order, meaning the American remained at the top of the table with a time of 13:27. A touching 54 km/h on average. Wild.

And no one could replace McNulty, not even one Tobias Foss who choked on the “paella” in the form of a 68-tooth single plate that he mounted on his Pinarello (+14″). The Norwegian has not won a time trial since his victory at the 2022 World Championships. Minutes before, and generally speaking, Ilan van Wilder (6.) He was considered one of the biggest favorites alongside McNulty and Vine. The Belgian from Quick-Step, who excels in this discipline, has exceeded Pello Bilbao in 2 seconds, Ben O’Connor in 5″, Adam Yates in 11″, Attila Valter in 17″ and Eine Rubio in a painful 1:02.

Youth in power

Aside from the appearance in the United Arab Emirates, there were several young talents who left their mark in the time trial. The first to highlight Ivan Romeo (20 years old), who achieved the best time of his professional career in the ranks of Movistar with his 9th place. On his part Markel Beloki (18 years old) has graduated with dignity first professional time trial with EF Education (45″ away from the winner), just ahead of a Andrew August (+51″), who in the first stage became the youngest competitor in the history of the race in the Emirates (18 years and 130 days) by surpassing the record of his Ineos teammate, Joshua Tarling. This Wednesday is a significant day with the classic high finish in Jebel Jais (almost 20 km at an average of 5.6%). Place your bets.

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