For the second day in a row, Andrea Guardini was close to a win in the Dubai Tour when he finished third in stage 2. While he came very fast from behind in the opening stage, he was the one to launch the sprint in today's stage.

"I got too much wind and I started too early," he said. "The team worked well but I did not want to risk losing the moment and due the enthusiasm I anticipated the others. It was a really tough sprint. In hindsight I should have waited. Cav and Elia have already won this season, I'm still hungry and I want to get the first one. On Saturday, I will certainly try. I'm still happy to be in front in the sprints unlike last year when I was struggling to keep the wheels of the best."

“The teamwork was good," his teammate Alexey Lutsenko said. "Ruslan [Tleubayev], Nibali and I all went to the front in the last 3k, and there was a wind coming off the sea from the left at the sprint."

Friday’s stage three will finish uphill, with Lutsenko seeking to make his own mark on the Dubai Tour at Hatta Dam.