Due to the heat, the calm in the desert and the long wide roads, the countdown was to an unadulterated sprinters festival in this UAE Tour.
Leader Remco Evenepoel kept far away from the chaos. His teammate Tim Merlier had to work hard if he wanted to grab a 2nd flower bouquet.
When Fernando Gaviria took a cat jump in the last hectometres, Merlier was still ideally positioned.
But the Colombian had blown himself up and Merlier was no longer involved.
Welsford, Kooij and Molano had timed their final shot better: the three of them crossed the line shoulder-to-shoulder.
Again there was no victory gesture, but the finish photo quickly brought a conclusion: Juan Sebastian Molano was a sigh faster.
For the Colombian – after the final stage in the Vuelta last year – it is his 2nd triumph in the WorldTour. Tomorrow the sprinters will get another chance.
