Oliveira goes within inches of stage win in Austria

Portuguese 2nd in sprint finish

Rui Oliveira came within a whisker of a stage victory on stage 2 of the Tour of Austria, missing out narrowly in a group arrival to Davide De Pretto (Jayco AlUla).

The Italian won in the fast finale in Bad Tatzmannsdorf ahead of Oliveira, with UAE Team Emirates racing hard in the final, especially along the short climbs that characterize the last part of the route.

The race gets hillier tomorrow with the stage from Maria Taferl to Steyr (184.5km), where UAE will aim to leave their mark.

Stage 1 results

1.Davide De Pretto (Jayco AlUla) 3:38:42

2.Rui Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates) s.t

3.Niklas Behrans (Lidl-Trek) s.t

General Classification after stage 1

1.Max Walscheid (Jayco AlUla) 3:42:29

2.Filippo Ganna (Ineos) s.t

3.Rui Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates) s.t

Elsewhere in France, it was a quiet Stage 5 for UAE Team Emirates in the Tour de France, with all riders arriving safely at the finish line. The stage concluded with a bunch sprint, where Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) made history by winning his 35^th stage in the Tour de France, whilst Tadej Pogačar continues to wear the Yellow Jersey.  Stage 6 takes place today (4^th July) in the region of Burgundy. It is expected to be another bunch sprint finish in what is the flattest stage of the race so far, providing the sprinters with another opportunity to contest for victory.

Looking ahead to Friday (5^th July), the riders will face the first of two Individual Time Trials at the Tour. The stage will span across 25.3km with an elevation gain of 300m. The climb of Côte de Curtil-Vergy (1.6km at 6.1%) will challenge the riders in the final half of the stage, where UAE Team Emirates will look to make their mark.