Tim Merlier won stage six of cycling’s UAE Tour on Saturday, to guarantee he takes the green sprint jersey in a top class field. The Belgian Quick-Step rider has been in the mix on all the big sprint stages, and won two of them — while his team leader Remco Evenepoel remains in the overall lead with Sunday’s deciding mountain stage still to come.

“It was another hectic finish today, but I was put into a great position with 500 meters to go and then went for a long sprint,” Merlier said.

“Thankfully I was able to hold on and I am happy to win in the green jersey.”

Merlier currently has 52 points, 13 clear of Dutch cyclist Dylan Groenewegen, with Olav Kooij of Jumbo on 34. British veteran Mark Cavendish failed to register in the top 10 in his first outing with new team Astana.

World and Vuelta a Espana champion Evenepoel will ride Sunday’s culminating mountain stage with a slender 9 seconds cushion ahead of Ineos Grenadier Luke Plapp, while Bahrain Victorious hope Pello Bilbao is at 13 seconds.

Evenepoel said he was already focussed on the next stage.

“It is an important one for me and I would very much like to defend this red jersey and win this race,” he said.

2023 UAE TOUR STAGE 6 RESULTS

1	MERLIER Tim	Soudal – Quick Step	3:41:12
2	BENNETT Sam	BORA – hansgrohe	0:00
3	GROENEWEGEN Dylan	Team Jayco AlUla	0:00
4	KOOIJ Olav	Jumbo-Visma	0:00
5	DE KLEIJN Arvid	Tudor Pro Cycling Team	0:00
6	WELSFORD Sam	Team DSM	0:00
7	THIJSSEN Gerben	Intermarché – Circus – Wanty	0:00
8	LIEPIŅŠ Emīls	Trek – Segafredo	0:00
9	BAUHAUS Phil	Bahrain – Victorious	0:00
10	EINHORN Itamar	Israel – Premier Tech	0:00

UAE TOUR OVERALL STANDINGS

1	EVENEPOEL Remco	Soudal – Quick Step	19:55:40
2	PLAPP Luke	INEOS Grenadiers	0:09
3	BILBAO Pello	Bahrain – Victorious	0:13
4	DE BOD Stefan	EF Education-EasyPost	1:03
5	POELS Wout	Bahrain – Victorious	1:06
6	VANHOUCKE Harm	Team DSM	1:12
7	LEKNESSUND Andreas	Team DSM	1:12
8	RUBIO Einer Augusto	Movistar Team	1:13
9	STEINHAUSER Georg	EF Education-EasyPost	1:13
10	YATES Adam	UAE Team Emirates	1:14

 

RBA/AFP Photos: Sprint Cycling