Rui Costa takes win in season debut at Saudi Tour

UAE Team Emirates continued their promising start to the season with victory on Stage 1 of the first Saudi Tour (2.1).

The race was marked by strong crosswinds which split the race apart on the route from
Riyadh to Jaww (173k). The peloton left it until the last moment to catch the escape with Costa making his move with 300 metres to go on the uphill kick to the line.

Along with the stage victory, Costa now holds the leaders jersey going into stage 2 from Sadus Castle to Riyadh (182k) which should be a day for the sprinters.

Rui Costa : “We knew it was going to be a hard stage and that there was going to be a lot of wind, but we did our best to be alert to the conditions. I knew who I had to watch coming into the finish and that 300m was the right time to make my move before the hairpin. It’s a really important win for me and a great start to the season.”

Andrej Hauptman (DS): “With 80km to go just after the feed zone we hit a crosswind and Bahrain started to pull on the front. There were some crashes with our riders getting caught up and so only Marcato and Rui made the front group initially. Later a group containing Oliveira came across 20km before the finish and they helped Costa a lot. We knew the steep finish suited Rui and so it’s a great we could pull it off and get another good win for the team.”

Stage 1 results

1. Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates) 3h52:02
2. Heinrich Haussler (Bahrain Mclaren) +0’’
3. Nacer Bouhanni (Arkea Samsic) +0’’

General Classification after stage 1

1. Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates) 3h52:02
2. Heinrich Haussler (Bahrain Mclaren) +1’’
3. Nacer Bouhanni (Arkea Samsic) +6’’