Italian Elia Viviani (Deceuninck – Quick-Step), has won a bunch sprint  to claim Stage 5, the Sharjah Stage, of the inaugural edition of the UAE Tour

He edged out previous stage-winner Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates), and Marcel Kittel (Team Katusha Alpecin).

Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo – Visma) remains the GC leader and wore the Red Jersey on the podium.

After the conclusion of the stage, Elia Viviani, said: “After the successful season I had last year and Fernando [Gaviria] not being our teammate anymore, it’s great to still win because he’s the world’s best sprinter and the hardest to beat. So I’m glad we did it as a team today after losing stage 2 to him. My lead-out train worked really well in this chaotic finish. We took the right decision to not spend more energy than needed yesterday and focus exclusively on today.”

The Red Jersey holder Primoz Roglic, said: “As expected, it was a long day in the saddle but I didn’t really get bored because we always had to be attentive in the desert with the crosswinds. Again, our team did a great job, who protected my [leading] time. For sure, we’re ready for tomorrow’s decisive stage.”

STAGE RESULT
1 – Elia Viviani (Deceuninck – Quick-Step), 181km in 4h48’59”, average speed 37.580km/h
2 – Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) s.t.
3 – Marcel Kittel (Team Katusha Alpecin) s.t.

JERSEYS

The Red Jersey, sponsored by Emirates (General individual classification by time) – Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo – Visma)
The Green Jersey, sponsored by ADNOC (General individual classification by points) – Stepan Kuriyanov (Gazprom – RusVelo)
The White Jersey, sponsored by Nakheel (Best Young Rider born after 1 January 1994) – David Gaudu (Groupama – FDJ)
The Black Jersey, sponsored by Abu Dhabi Aviation (Intermediate Sprint Jersey Classification) – Stepan Kuriyanov (Gazprom – RusVelo)
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 – Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo – Visma)
2 – Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) at 21″
3 – David Gaudu (Groupama – FDJ) at 38″