Diego Ulissi 7th at the Hatta Dam

The idea was for Gaviria to try to sprint to victory after the hard 200-metre final, with points of 17%, and for Alexander Kristoff and Diego Ulissi to be ready in case they were needed. However, the plan went out the window.

First a crash at 6km out, which involved Gaviria and somewhat Kristoff, who was hit on his bike from behind. The mechanical damage in the last 200 hurt the Norwegian. When he changed gears, it triggered a whip effect of the rear derailleur, gone out of alignment due hit he took beforehand.

Ulissi at that point tried to give his best and came away with a seventh place.

“Unfortunately today it didn’t go as planned and when Gaviria and then Kristoff were out of the game, I tried to do the sprint,” Ulissi said.

“I got up in the first 10 spots on the final 200 metre final climb, but it was a finish for more explosive cyclists. I need longer climbs were the sprinters burn up before I did. I passed a few cyclists, but I was not able to do more.”

The fifth stage tomorrow travels from Sharjah to Khor Fakkan, 181 kilometres. The stage, connecting the Persian Gulf with the Indian Ocean, should suit the sprinters.

Stage four results:

1 Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal 4:27:07

2 Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo +2’’

3 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Jumbo-Visma +2’’

7 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates +5’’

General classification after four stages:

1 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Jumbo-Visma 14:05:10

2 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar +21’’

3 David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ +38’’

4 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 46’’

5 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Sunweb +54’’

6 Daniel Martin (Ire) UAE Team Emirates 1’01’’