Saudi Tour rolls on as Gibbons enters top-10

Ryan Gibbons sprinted to 7th place on stage 2 of the Saudi Tour on the flat terrain from Winter Park to Shalal Sijlyat Rocks (184km).

The stage was affected heavily by crosswinds with several riders getting caught out. The splits came back together with 7km to go and the remains of the peloton sprinted it out for the win. UAE Team Emirates had numbers up front, with Gibbons tasked with leading the sprint after Pascal Ackermann getting dropped with 3.5km to go, the German still struggling with stomach problems.

Jonathan Milan (Bahrain-Victorious) proved fastest in a close finish with yesterday’s winner and GC leader Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-Alula). Gibbons moves up to 6th place in GC, 16’’ seconds down on the leader.

The Saudi Tour continues tomorrow for Stage 3 from Al Manshiyah Train Station to Abu Rakah (159km) with a slight uphill ramp to the finish.

 
Stage 2 results

1.Jonathan Milan (Bahrain-Victorious) 4:53:35
2.Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-Alula) s.t
3.Cees Bol (Astana) s.t
7.Ryan Gibbons (UAE Team Emirates) s.t

 
General Classification after stage 2

1.Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-Alula) 4:07:59
2.Jonathan Milan (Bahrain Victorious) +6’’
3.Max Walscheid (Cofidis) +12’’
6.Ryan Gibbons (UAE Team Emirates) +16’’