Antonia Niedermaier climbed into the lead in the Best Young Rider classification on today’s queen stage of the UAE Tour Women in the United Arab Emirates. The CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto rider performed strongly on the demanding Jebel Hafeet climb to take sixth on the stage and move into seventh overall.

Yesterday’s stage two in the crosswinds dented the general classification podium hopes for several riders, but Antonia was determined to make amends on the terrain most suited to her strengths. Brought into a good position at the bottom of the climb by her CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto teammates, Antonia could focus solely on the final ten kilometres of the stage. The relentless slopes of Jebel Hafeet quickly reduced the leading group to around twenty riders, with Antonia, Chloé Dygert and Soraya Paladin climbing strongly. As the pace increased, only Antonia could go with the best climbers, and the group quickly became just nine riders fighting for the stage podium and the top ten places overall.

“Stage two was windy and hard. I don’t have that much experience with echelons,” said Antonia. “I think it was really my first time racing in those conditions, and unfortunately, I lost some time on GC. It was disappointing, but we turned our focus to today. The stage was also challenging before we even got to the climb with some smaller echelon sections, and I had a puncture, which caused some extra stress.”

The Jebel Hafeet climb and summit finish on stage three of the four-day tour was destined to cause another shake-up in the general classification. The 10-km-long climb is an early season test for the climbers of the peloton, made more taxing coming after 142km of racing on today’s stage.

“The climb was hard, especially being the first race of the season where you’re climbing. It takes some practice to manage your effort and energy. I tried my best, and I’m generally happy with my performance. I’m not in top shape, but I look forward to seeing where it goes,” described Antonia.

“I was disappointed after yesterday, but I’m happy now to have a jersey, and as a team, we want to defend it tomorrow and look forward to a strong finish to the tour.”

Antonia is seventh overall at +3:15 behind leader Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE) and leads the Best Young Rider competition by 47 seconds ahead of nearest rival Nienke Vinke (DFP). Tomorrow’s stage four is set to be a sprinter showdown where teammate Chiara Consonni will look to unleash her own strengths.

HOW TO FOLLOW

The final 128 km of the UAE Tour will be broadcast on Dubai Sports 1 from 09:25 Central European Time and on Eurosport, Discovery+, Max, and FloBikes from 10:20 CET. You can follow the stage from Abu Dhabi to Abu Dhabi Marina on X using #UAETourWomen and #UCIWWT and the CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto social channels.

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