Discover the Stage 1 highlights
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More information:
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https://twitter.com/thealulatour
https://www.instagram.com/thesalulatour/
#TheAlUlaTour
More exclusive contents on Tour de France Club : https://www.letour.fr/fr/club
© Amaury Sport Organisation - www.aso.fr
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SportsTranscript
00:00 Welcome to the fourth edition of the Alula Tour.
00:09 One of the most spectacular bike races to be held in the Middle East, the event boasts
00:13 a new name for 2024 having previously been known as the Saudi Tour.
00:17 Over the next five days, some of the world's top riders will battle for supremacy in the
00:22 majestic landscapes around Alula.
00:29 Several of the main overall contenders gathered at Mariah on Monday for the pre-race press
00:33 conference.
00:34 One of the big favourites is Simon Yates, who is spearheading the GC challenge for Jaco
00:39 Alula in the home of their title sponsor.
00:42 "It's been great so far, people have been very welcoming, the hospitality has been great
00:48 and the riding has also been fantastic."
00:51 "It's really great weather and also the road is perfect for the ride of the bike especially.
00:59 Start of the season well placed, it's better if we have flat sections, we have some climbs
01:04 then it should be a nice race."
01:05 "I had a good winter and I feel ready, I'm looking forward to start the season here.
01:15 It was a good winter so far, so let's see how the legs spin."
01:25 Today's curtain raiser is all about the sprinters and the man to beat is surely Dylan Hoenewegen.
01:30 He has three stage victories at this race and he's already won in 2024.
01:36 "We're already here since yesterday, so we did a recon, saw the local lap here.
01:44 It's nice, a bit twisty, a bit corners, but big roads.
01:48 Makes it maybe a bit difficult to have good timing, but we know what to do.
01:53 Hopefully we can do everything perfect today."
01:56 "Dylan won already a stage, so we will see.
02:08 For me it's the first road race, try to find again the feeling in the peloton.
02:14 But once I'm in the last kilometre I will have the confidence in the team and I will
02:20 try to win the stage."
02:26 "We go all in for the sprint and I think it's a great opportunity for us to maybe win the
02:34 stage."
02:41 Stage one is a loop of just under 150 kilometres, starting and finishing at the Al Manshia train
02:47 station.
02:48 There were no real difficulties to speak of, although the inclusion of a bonus sprint just
02:52 10.6 kilometres from the line could shake things up in the final.
02:56 Either way, a sprinter should be shrugging on the race's first leaders jersey this afternoon.
03:10 Warm weather greeted the riders as they got underway at around 12.45pm local time.
03:15 Echelons can sometimes play havoc in this part of the world, but there was no wind today.
03:20 It was set to be a straightforward sprint day.
03:27 Five riders quickly shot up the road, building a maximum gap of three minutes.
03:32 Unai Zabeldia in the familiar orange of Usquitel-Escadi.
03:36 Japanese champion Masaaki Yamamoto in red and white for JCL Team Yukio.
03:41 Marta Bettles in the blue of the Rujai Insurance Team.
03:44 And two men in green from the Saudi national team, Hassan Al Ibrahim and Ali Al Shaikh
03:49 Ahmed.
03:51 One of the distinctive jerseys up for grabs this year is the orange jersey for the most
03:55 active rider, with points available at the various intermediate and bonus sprints.
04:00 And it was the man already in orange, Zabeldia, who took the first three-point haul.
04:04 Back in the peloton, the sprint teams had decided not to give the breakaway too much
04:15 freedom and the gap stabilised at around two minutes.
04:20 Four-five soon became four up at the front, with Al Ibrahim suffering.
04:24 The local man, who abandoned on the opening stage of last year's race, was clearly in
04:28 some difficulty.
04:36 A couple of the other riders would soon be waving goodbye to the front of the race as
04:39 well, Al Shaikh Ahmed and Yamamoto also going backwards as Zabeldia and Bettles pushed on.
04:49 Various teams getting themselves organised in the peloton for the best sprinters.
04:53 Men like Runewegen, Melilla, Declin, Milano and Coca.
05:00 Bettles then had an unfortunate mechanical, leaving Zabeldia solo at the front.
05:05 The 20-year-old Spaniard helping himself to more active rider points and virtually securing
05:09 the orange jersey, which shouldn't take him out of his comfort zone.
05:18 Into the final 20k with the peloton closing on Zabeldia.
05:21 Just another mechanical issue then for one of the GC favourites.
05:39 Zabeldia was caught just after that Yates puncture, as another rider from Ruge Insurance,
05:43 Polychronos Tsotsakis, tried to counter but the former Greek champion was soon brought
05:48 to heel.
05:51 Then another ill-timed mechanical for another team leader, this time Pierre Latorre of Total
05:55 Energies.
05:59 The peloton all grouped and heading for the bonus sprint, with precious seconds going
06:03 to Mateo Subrero, Fred Wright and Frederic de Varchness.
06:09 Only 10k to go now, but there was still more drama to come.
06:13 Oh, crashing the peloton.
06:16 One of the Jake Owalula riders is down, a Japanese champion is down as well.
06:21 And this looks like it's Simon Yates.
06:23 No, it's not.
06:25 Down is Alessandro De Marchi.
06:31 Punctures and that crash making for a scrappy finale, but the big sprinters all survived.
06:36 The riders winding their way around this tricky hairpin bend just before the Flamme Rouge and
06:41 the final shootout.
06:42 Jake Owalula looking around for Dylan Groenewegen.
06:46 Where is he?
06:47 Right now you can't quite see him.
06:49 There he is, Dylan Groenewegen is there.
06:51 Here comes the team of UAE with Sebastian Milano.
06:55 Also up there, a big move left hand side.
06:57 Here goes Milano and UAE team Emirates.
07:00 Kasper van Ouden is in the middle.
07:02 Here comes Milano, but it's Kasper van Ouden.
07:05 Kasper van Ouden.
07:06 Here comes Groenewegen on the inside.
07:09 Groenewegen, did he take it on the line?
07:12 Kasper van Ouden is the stage winner for DSM Firmenhek post-NL.
07:18 It was a fantastic sprint for van Ouden.
07:23 What a way for Kasper van Ouden to celebrate his first professional victory, beating Sprint
07:28 Supremos Groenewegen and Moliere here in Saudi Arabia.
07:32 The 22-year-old Dutchman showed flashes of his potential in 2023, notably with a podium
07:38 at Milano Torino.
07:39 This could be the year he truly comes of age.
07:45 I think last year maybe I wanted to win too much.
07:48 So I made a few mistakes that weren't necessary and I had a few heart crashes, so you start
07:53 to doubt yourself a little bit.
07:55 But over the winter and last season, everyone in the team believed in me a lot and they
07:59 knew what I could do.
08:01 Everyone at HQ, they believed in me.
08:03 The coaches believed in me, the trainers and all the riders.
08:05 So it's super nice for me to win, but it's also super nice for them and I cannot thank
08:11 them enough for believing in me.
08:13 Van Ouden opening his account ahead of Groenewegen and Moliere, with Søren Veren, Skald and
08:17 Dusan Rijevic rounding out the top five.
08:20 In the end, no time lost for Yates or Latour.
08:26 Van Ouden is the first man into the green jersey for DSM Firmenhek post-NL.
08:30 He leads Groenewegen and Moliere, with Sobrero and Wright fourth and fifth, thanks to the
08:34 seconds they nabbed at the bonus sprint.
08:40 Van Ouden is also the early leader of the points classification on 15, although he'll
08:44 be lending that red jersey to his nearest challenger Groenewegen tomorrow.
08:51 Zubel Deer took six points in the most active rider competition, which he leads from his
08:55 breakaway companion, Bettles.
09:00 Van Ouden is building quite a collection of jerseys, he also takes White as the best
09:04 young rider.
09:07 There's another flat stage to come on Wednesday, although it does have a bit of a sting in
09:10 the tail and could suit the punchier sprinters.
09:13 Do join us for that again tomorrow and thanks for watching.
09:16 [Music]