The first stage of the UAE Tour was marked by a victory for Tim Merlier, but the end of the race was also marked by a serious accident that involved several riders in the last meters of the stage. Harold Tejada, one of the runners involved in the accident, was unable to complete the stage alone.
The Colombian had to count on the help of Michele Gazzoli, his Italian teammate, to reach the finish line.
Tejada escapes without serious injuries
Despite the frightening accident, Tejada managed to escape without suffering serious physical injuries. After the race, it was confirmed that the 26-year-old cyclist did not suffer any fractures. Tejada managed to finish in 137th place and, despite the crash occurring in the last three kilometers of the race, he was classified with the same time as the winner, Merlier.
Portuguese Ivo Oliveira also affected by the fall
The crash, which was started by a rider from the BORA-hansgrohe team, also involved other riders, including Attila Valter (Visma-Lease a Bike), Elia Viviani (INEOS Grenadiers), Max Poole and Timo Roosen (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Ivo Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates) and runners from the Lidl-Trek and Cofidis teams.