Jonathan Milan beats Philipsen and Pogacar to win dramatic UAE Tour stage 1!

Monday, 17 February 2025 at 13:58

Jonathan Milan has won the first stage of the 2025 UAE Tour, beating Jasper Philipsen on the line in a brutal uphill sprint. In a beautiful race through the desert, there was no stopping Milan who outlasted his rivals in one of the most exciting races of the year so far.

The race had added significance as it represented the first race of Tadej Pogacar's season. The undisputed king of cycling, the triple crown winner of 2024, dusted off the cobwebs for his first race since October where he won Il Lombardia. Will he replicate the same success of 2024 in 2025?

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With just over 10km to go, Tim Merlier had a scare as the European had to tap the breaks which nearly caused a big pile up in the bunch. And then with 8km to go, there was a heavy fall as Juan Sebastian Molano nearly took out his teammate Pogacar, but fell himself onto the rocks. There were more nervous moments as the roads narrowed, leaving riders right on the edge and almost touching the sand.

The action really kicked off with 3.8lm to go, as the peloton accelerated and race to gain the best position heading into a roundabout. Thankfully, the peloton kept it sensible and made it through that obstacle unscathed.

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The road kicked up to 8% in the final kilometre, giving Tadej Pogacar something of a chance compared the true sprinters. Jasper Philipsen was looking good, but so was Pogacar!

But Pogacar, try as he might, could not hold. And then, it came down to Milan versus Philipsen, as the riders tired dramatically in the long uphill sprint.

It came down to the very last metres, but it was Milan who prevailed as Philipsen just burnt himself in the final metres. Not even Pogacar, who went too early, could match the raw power than Milan was generating, as he picked up yet another win.

UPDATE: Jasper Philipsen has been relegated.