The first stage of the Abu Dhabi Tour ended in a sprint finish with Andrea Guardini (Astana) out powering Tom Boonen (Etixx-QuickStep) and Daniel Bennati, who was given a lead out by world champion and Tinkoff-Saxo teammate Peter Sagan. However, most of the peloton was just happy to have ended a torrid four hours in the heat.
The air temperature was 38C when the riders rolled out of the luxurius hotel in Qasr-Al Sareb, where they spent the night, but rider’s power meters showed temperatures of over 50C. A headwind and rolling roads through the desert made it difficult to race and the riders quickly went into protection mode to avoid suffering too much.
Conditions eased for the final two hours of the race after a change in direction and with the sun gradually setting over the dunes. Race organisers RCS Sport cut the 14.5km finishing circuit to appease the riders and ensure the stage finished during the live television window. They also provided extra cold water and ice from a truck behind the line of team cars.
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However, some riders were still angry they had to race in the heat. Others, perhaps reflecting the general feeling in the peloton, suggested conditions were close to the limit of what was physically possible to race in and what was acceptable.
World champion Peter Sagan was happy to be wearing white clothing that helped reflect the heat but said that he did not feel well during the stage due to the heat. He was of few words but said it was ‘difficult to race’.
Tom Boonen was more vocal.
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