Tadej Pogačar claims his first victory of 2025 at Jebel Jais, outpowering his rivals in an uphill sprint launched from the front in the last 300 meters. The Slovenian, now tied with Tim Merlier at five stage wins in the UAE Tour, perfectly executed his team’s strategy, as they controlled most of the final climb. An attack by Felix Gall at 1,500 meters from the finish put Red Jersey Joshua Tarling in trouble, but the UAE Team Emirates – XRG responded immediately, with an impressive Jay Vine setting up Pogačar. In the general classification, the Slovenian now leads with an 18-second advantage over Tarling, who retained the White Jersey, and 23 seconds over Castrillo.
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
- Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates – XRG)
- Joshua Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) at 18″
- Pablo Castrillo (Movistar Team) at 23″
STAGE RESULTS
- Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates – XRG), 181km in 4h36’04”, average speed 39.338 km/h
- Oscar Onley (Team Picnic PostNL) s.t.
- Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) s.t.
THE OFFICIAL JERSEYS
The leader jerseys of the UAE Tour are provided by ALÉ, with ENIT and ITALIA.IT as proud jersey partners
- Red Jersey, leader of the General Classification, sponsored by International Holding Company: IHC – Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates – XRG)
- Green Jersey, leader of the Points Classification, sponsored by Mubadala –Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) – worn by Oscar Onley (Team Picnic PostNL)
- White Jersey, Best Young Rider, sponsored by Nakheel – Joshua Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers)
- Black Jersey, leader of the Intermediate Sprint Classification, sponsored by ALDAR – Carlos Samudio (Solution Tech Vini Fantini)
PRESS CONFERENCE
Speaking in the press conference, the stage winner and new Red Jersey Tadej Pogacar said: “Everybody watching this race knows that Jebel Jais is windy. It meant the guys pulling were suffering quite a lot but when you’re in the bunch, it’s not like that. Today’s race was no science fiction. I was hoping for Joshua Tarling to stay closer and keep the red jersey so I would have continued racing in the rainbow jersey. At the end I’m happy to lead the race but we also know that Jebel Jais isn’t very suitable for making differences. Every year we hear that this is a sprint of the GC riders. It’s easier to have bigger gaps in steeper climbs, not only for me but in general. It’s great that my parents finally have a chance to come here and watch this race. They’re enjoying it and I also enjoyed to see them on the start line and know that they’d be here at the finish. Today is a confirmation that my winter training has been good. But I already had that feeling yesterday. It’s a motivation booster”.
The White Jersey Joshua Tarling said: “I’m satisfied with how it went. It was quite a smooth pace the whole way up so I’ve settled into a rhythm until Decathlon-AG2R started to really ramp it so with one and half kilometre to get, I was a bit off the back but I some left to keep the pace uphill. We a nice few safe stages and I’ll head into the last day the same way we did today for me and Carlos [Rodriguez]”.
STATISTICS
- 5th stage win at the UAE Tour for Tadej Pogacar, equalling Tim Merlier for the record.
- Tadej Pogacar recorded his 89th professional win, the first this season. His wait for a win was 130 days: since he won Il Lombardia last October.
- Only 2 riders won stages at the UAE Tour wearing the Rainbow Jersey: Alejandro Valverde in Jebel Hafeet in 2019 and Tadej Pogacar in Jebel Jais this year.
- Oscar Onley posted his 2nd season podium. He was 2nd, like in the 5th stage of the Tour Down Under in Willunga Hill.
