Lotte Kopecky secures UAE Tour Women crown as Amber Kraak wins final stage

Lotte Kopecky has become the second winner of the UAE Tour Women after securing overall victory following the fourth and final stage in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

The Belgian rider finished 13 seconds ahead of Neve Bradbury (Canyon//SRAM Racing) with Margarita Garcia (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) third, a further 31 seconds behind.

Team SD Worx Protime were denied a clean-sweep of victories in this year's race when Amber Kraak held on to win ahead of Lorena Wiebes – who took the first two stages before teammate Kopecky's victory on top of Jebel Hafeet on Saturday – and Daria Pikulik to seal Stage 4 honours.

But it was Lopecky who became the race's second general classification winner following Elisa Longo Borghini's victory in last year's inaugural edition.

“Coming to the UAE Women Tour, I hoped that I could win but it’s very early in the season and I didn’t know how my opponents were,” said 28-year-old Kopecky.

“As for myself, the outcome shows that I’ve worked in the right direction. Racing here is completely different than in Europe.

“If the wind blows in the right direction, it can make a very interesting racing. Before the race, I went sky diving for the first time and I enjoyed it too. I didn’t know what to expect when I jumped out of this plane but it was a very nice learning experience.

Lotte Kopecky rocking the