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Phenomenal Phinney clinches Dubai Tour victory Alex Leach / 9 February 2014 Kittel claims final stage as American cyclist Taylor clinches Dubai Tour. Taylor Phinney of the BMC Racing Team poses with the trophy after claiming the overall honours at the end of the four-day inaugural Dubai Tour on Saturday. — KT photo by Rahul Gajjar Taylor Phinney came away with the blue and white jerseys of the inaugural Dubai Tour on Saturday here having prevailed outright in the general and young riders’ classifications respectively. The American won Thursday’s time trial, which effectively meant he would be assured of both of his eventual prizes if he finished the subsequent three races among the first peloton to cross the finish line. That is exactly what he did too to deny the likes of Lasse Norman Hansen (Denmark/Garmin Sharp), his team-mate Steven Cummings (Great Britain/BMC Racing) and Tony Martin (Germany/Omega Pharma – Quick-Step) in the main competition. Marcel Kittel (Germany/Giant-Shimano) claimed the red jersey in the points’ classification after his three stage successes, whereas Willem Jakobus Smit (South Africa/Vini Fantini-Nippo-De Rosa) took home the honours in the intermediate sprints. “I’m super honoured,” Phinney said. “I definitely owe this victory to the team, the MC and Andy Rihs for believing in me and this is a great start of the season for us at BMC (Racing). “I couldn’t be happier than to come here, win the first (time trial) stage and then have such great teamwork in stages two, three and four to cap off a great couple of days. I’m very happy to be the first winner. It’s a cool feeling.” Phinney’s triumph this early in the season also sets him and the rest of BMC Racing team up nicely for the rest of the year – one which could prove quite fruitful on this evidence. “I’ve come into the season for the last three years and always had some sort of issue – a knee injury or an illness – that didn’t allow me to be at my best,” he added. “This is the first year that I’m coming in and I’m really not playing catch-up at all, so it’s great to see that I can come in early season and win some races before the races that are really big. “It has been a stressful last couple of days, but it’s been a really good preparation for me going forward. “I couldn’t be happier to have won this race here. It’s definitely something that I thought I could do back when they released the profiles and the stages, so to come here and actually do it is a great feeling. I’m definitely relieved at the moment too. “Until now, I don’t think this team has entirely delivered the results we’re capable of, so this is a great start to the year and hopefully it can be the year that we really are able to thank Andy (Rihs) to the fullest.” alex@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Taylor Scott International
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