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Luke Plap may only be able to hold on to the leader’s jersey trip to the uae One day, but the Australians remain optimistic and are fighting for an overall victory.
world champion Remco Evenepoel’s second place At the Jebel Jais summit, the Belgian climbed to the top of the overall standings while also On time with Plapp 7 seconds ahead of the Ineos Grenadiers.
Evenepoel is currently in the ascendant after a summit between the pair on the UAE Tour. However, as Plapp points out, such a tight differential at the top of GC means there is still everything to fight for, and it’s no shame to be beaten by the reigning world champions.
“When you lose the jersey to a world champion, there’s nothing you can ask for,” Plap told cycling news Moments before accepting the points leader’s green jersey, which was inherited from Evenepoel’s team-mate and stage one winner Tim Merrill.
“It’s still a good day for me, there’s still a lot to play in Jebel Hafit. I think if you’d told me at the start of the day, I’d be in the same group as Remko To end the game in the middle and still be able to fight for everyone, I’ll take it.”
He also praised his Ineos Grenadiers teammates for their tremendous efforts on the long trek across the deserts of northern UAE and into the mountains of Al Hajar, saying: “I think you saw Wurfy [Cameron Wurf] Be ahead all day. It’s a beautiful day. “
The 21km climb along the undulating approach road was almost free of GC attacks, and Plapp suggested that the top three overall – himself, Evenepoel and Pello Bilbao (Bahrain winner) – were content to get to the finish together.
“I think all three of us are waiting to see how the Emirates do,” he pointed out, “I guess, it’s a little bit up to them because they’re so far away, so playing again now.
However, a couple of strikes by the UAE midway through Mikkel Bjerg and Marc Soler quickly fizzled out.
“We’re waiting to see what happens,” Plap said. “None of us wanted to burn too many matches.”
Ahead of Jebel Hafeet, who predicts the next three stages won’t be much of a fight for the extra seconds, as the breakout will likely absorb them, and he’s not sure if there will be another crosswind “as I just Same as “accepting it day by day without looking too much into the future”.
“But I’m not going to complain, anyway, if there’s a three-day sprint and then a showdown against Jebel Hafeet.”
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