Esteban Chaves (Orica GreenEdge) claimed stage 3 of the Abu Dhabi Tour after a late crash saw Wouter Poels (Team Sky) fall on the last corner. The win handed Chaves the race lead with just one sprint stage remaining in the race.
Chaves and Poels came into the last few hundred meters together and Poels’ late attack had put him in the driving seat with the Colombian desperately hanging on. However disaster struck for Poels as he came down on the last corner before the line.
By the time the Team Sky rider made it to his feet Fabio Aru (Astana) has taken second with Poels forced to settle for third. Chaves now leads Aru by 16 seconds on GC with Poels third at 27 seconds.
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"It was a very hard climb, and even harder in the heat," Chaves said after his win.
"The first part was hard, the final kilometres less so, but you needed to have the legs. The racing was hard, too. We are in the middle of the desert and the temperatures were unbelievable, so it was important to keep my body temperature down. The team was great. They worked hard for me all day, bringing me water and ice for my back and head. I poured 30 to 35 bottles of water on my body. I am really happy with this win. It was a hard climb, but I did not raise my hands in celebration because the rider in front of me crashed, and it would not have been correct to celebrate. I would like to send my commiserations to Wout Poels, and also say to the race organisers, 'Congratulations, Abu Dhabi Tour.'"
The stage, with the only mountain-top finish of the race, had seen Alessandro Bazzana (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling) and Rafaâ Chtioui (Skydive Dubai Pro Cycling Team) skip away in the early stages and build up a lead that approached three minutes.
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