Looking for the last mountain
21 October 2016

Abu Dhabi Tour (st. 2)

Movistar Team gets unscathed through second sprint at Abu Dhabi Tour -won by Cavendish (DDD)-, tackles Saturday’s exciting, decisive climb towards Jebel Hafeet

Mark Cavendish (DDD) took over the leader's jersey in the Abu Dhabi Tour after winning the short, fast stage two Friday, its 115km between the capital's city center and Al Marina covered in barely two-and-a-half hours. A six-man breakaway, led by Jens Keukeleire (OBE), was close to ruining the sprinters' chances, yet a serious push from several teams managed to reduce the two-minute gap they held with just 13km to go. The attempt was aborted with 650m remaining.

A 17” margin between the leader and the main GC contenders, created by bonus seconds, is the only gap the race holds before its decisive course. Stage three on Saturday, 150km from Al Ain, will finish atop Jebel Hafeet, a 10.4km climb with 6.9% average gradient and some slopes peaking up to 11%. Winner Anacona, Dayer Quintana and Andrey Amador, all three safely at the back of the group after a nice final leadout by his team-mates into the last kilometer, look like the most likely Blue contenders for tomorrow.

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