UAE Tour: Jonathan Milan takes back-to-back sprints with Stage 5 win in Dubai

UAE Tour: Jonathan Milan takes back-to-back sprints with Stage 5 win in Dubai

Milan launched long from a disorganised bunch to hold off Erlend Blikra and Matteo Malucelli through a technical Dubai finale, while Antonio Tiberi kept the Red Jersey safe ahead of tomorrow's decisive Jebel Hafeet summit finish.

By Peter Stuart · · 3 min read

Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) won Stage 5 of the UAE Tour in Dubai, powering through a messy, technical sprint to take his second consecutive stage victory and fourth win of 2026.

Erlend Blikra (Uno-X Mobility) finished second with Matteo Malucelli (XDS Astana) third, but neither threatened Milan after the Italian opened his sprint from distance and sustained enough speed to hold them off. Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) retained the Red Jersey ahead of tomorrow's Jebel Hafeet summit finish, the last serious GC lever in this race.

The 166 km route from Dubai Al Mamzar Park was pan-flat, with desert crosswind sections that never materialised as a threat. A northerly headwind on the return leg kept the peloton together, denying GC teams the echelon opportunity that had been flagged pre-stage. The real difficulty was compressed into the final 1.5 km: two sharp corners forced sprint trains into a positioning fight where timing mattered as much as watts.

Results

Dubai Al Mamzar Park - Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University • Feb 20 • 166km

Velora
PosRiderTeamTime
🥇
Jonathan Milan
LIDL-TREK 3:33:18
🥈
Erlend Blikra
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:00
🥉
Matteo Malucelli
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:00
4
Luka Mezgec
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:00
5
Daniel Skerl
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:00
6
Ethan Kane Vernon
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:00
7
Steffen de Schuyteneer
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:00
8
Axel Huens
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:00
9
Madis Mihkels
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:00
10
Nicolo' Parisini
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
11
Mark Stewart
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:00
12
Robin Froidevaux
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
13
Gerben Thijssen
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:00
14
Samuel Welsford
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:00
15
Cees Bol
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:00
16
Fabio Jakobsen
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:00
17
Gleb Syritsa
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:00
18
Simone Consonni
LIDL-TREK+0:00
19
Ben Swift
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:00
20
Daan Hoole
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:00
21
Joshua Michael Tarling
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:00
22
Alessandro Romele
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:00
23
Afonso Eulálio
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:00
24
Florian Vermeersch
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:10
25
Bert van Lerberghe
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:10
26
Pietro Mattio
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:10
27
Lorenzo Milesi
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:10
28
Callum Thornley
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:10
29
Maximilian Richard Walscheid
LIDL-TREK+0:10
30
Pavel Novák
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:10
31
Carl-Frederik Bévort
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:10
32
Ezra Caudell
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:10
33
Damiano Caruso
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:10
34
Antonio Tiberi
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:10
35
Manlio Moro
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:10
36
Isaac del Toro Romero
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:10
37
Gianluca Pollefliet
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:10
38
Mathys Rondel
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:10
39
Tim Naberman
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:10
40
Adam Richard Yates
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:10
41
Lev Gonov
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:10
42
Niklas Märkl
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:10
43
Tobias Halland Johannessen
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:10
44
Harold Alfonso Tejada Canacue
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:10
45
Jasper de Buyst
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:10
46
Juan Sebastian Molano Benavides
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:10
47
Riley Pickrell
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:10
48
Emmanuel Houcou
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:10
49
Ethan Edward Hayter
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:10
50
Albert Torres Barcelo
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:10
51
Rudy Porter
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:10
52
Damien Howson
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:10
53
George Bennett
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:10
54
Tijmen Graat
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:10
55
Derek Gee
LIDL-TREK+0:10
56
Felix Gall
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:10
57
Embret Svestad-Bårdseng
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:10
58
Pablo Castrillo Zapater
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:10
59
Kevin Vermaerke
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:10
60
Owain Doull
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:10
61
Jørgen Nordhagen
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:10
62
Nils Politt
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:10
63
Rémi Cavagna
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:10
64
Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:10
65
Nikias Arndt
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:10
66
Ben Tulett
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:10
67
Felix Ørn-Kristoff
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:10
68
Hannes Wilksch
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:10
69
Stefan Bissegger
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:10
70
Mattia Cattaneo
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:10
71
Sean Christian
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:10
72
Roel van Sintmaartensdijk
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:10
73
David Gaudu
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:10
74
Matthew Dinham
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:10
75
Georg Steinhauser
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:10
76
Dion Allan Smith
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:10
77
Lennert van Eetvelt
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:10
78
Ryan William Mullen
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:10
79
Sergio Andres Higuita Garcia
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:10
80
Wilco Kelderman
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:10
81
Simone Gualdi
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:10
82
Michael Storer
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:10
83
Patrick Gamper
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:10
84
Enzo Paleni
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:10
85
Alberto Dainese
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:10
86
Junior Lecerf
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:10
87
Anders Halland Johannessen
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:10
88
Luca Vergallito
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:10
89
Sean Quinn
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:10
90
Anthon Charmig
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:10
91
Casper Cornelis van Uden
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:10
92
Sebastian Kolze Changizi
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:10
93
Harm Vanhoucke
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:10
94
Markel Beloki Fernandez
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:10
95
Gregor Mühlberger
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:10
96
Matthias Schwarzbacher
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:10
97
Remco Evenepoel
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:10
98
Finn Lachlan Fox Fisher-Black
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:10
99
Lucas Plapp
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:10
100
James Knox
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:10
101
Stefan de Bod
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:10
102
Ilan van Wilder
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:10
103
Nadav Raisberg
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:10
104
Mattia Gaffuri
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:10
105
Anders Skaarseth
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:10
106
Byron Munton
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:10
107
Harold Martin Lopez Granizo
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:10
108
Steven Kruijswijk
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:10
109
Edward Dunbar
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:10
110
Christopher Harper
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:10
111
Ayco Bastiaens
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:10
112
Jonas Geens
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:10
113
Aivaras Mikutis
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:10
114
Silvan Dillier
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:10
115
Cole Kessler
MODERN ADVENTURE PRO CYCLING+0:10
116
Alastair Mackellar
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:10
117
Mathijs Paasschens
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:10
118
Jardi Christiaan van der Lee
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:10
119
Baptiste Veistroffer
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:10
120
Edward Theuns
LIDL-TREK+0:10
121
Patrick Konrad
LIDL-TREK+0:10
122
Rainer Kepplinger
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:10
123
Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier
LIDL-TREK+0:10
124
Rune Herregodts
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:10
125
Artem Shmidt
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:10
126
Ben O'Connor
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:10
127
Luke Durbridge
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:10
128
Connor Swift
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:44
129
Arthur Kluckers
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:44
130
Florian Senechal
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:10
131
Jonas Rickaert
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:10
132
Simon Dehairs
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:59
133
Peter Hansen
INEOS GRENADIERS+1:14
134
Warre Vangheluwe
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+1:19
135
Lewis Bower
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+1:43
136
Nickolas Zukowsky
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+1:44
137
Emil Herzog
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+1:54
138
Pier-André Côté
NSN CYCLING TEAM+1:54
139
Jarrad Eriks Drizners
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+2:09
140
Gianni Moscon
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+2:09
141
Jan Hirt
NSN CYCLING TEAM+2:13
142
Matteo Milan
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:10
143
Johan Jacobs
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:10

Milan solves the Dubai finish again

Zukowksy and Moscon in the breakaway on stage 5 of the UAE Tour

A three-rider breakaway of Gianni Moscon (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Silvan Dillier (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and Nickolas Zukowsky (Pinarello-Q36.5) animated the mid-race kilometres without ever building a gap beyond 1:30. The peloton, after nearly misjudging the catch on Stage 4, kept control throughout. Dillier used the move productively, winning both intermediate sprints to consolidate his Black Jersey lead.

Zukowsky tried a solo dig at -5.5 km but was swept up with 3 km remaining. From there, the sprint trains collided in congested streets. A crash on the final corner caught Matteo Milan (Groupama-FDJ United), but Jonathan Milan was already positioned by his Lidl-Trek teammates at the penultimate turn.

Milan knew the finish from previous editions and deliberately targeted the second-to-last corner rather than the front of the final bend, giving himself room to launch without being completely exposed. The long effort held.

The early kilometres of stage 5 of the UAE Tour

The GC picture stayed frozen. Tiberi leads Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) by 21s, with Harold Tejada (XDS Astana) at 1:00 and Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Intermarché) at 1:07. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), sitting outside the top 10 after his Stage 3 losses, probed the early breakaway attempts on what was nominally a sprinters' day, indicating an aggressive approach from the Belgian following his Stage 3 losses.

Milan now leads the Green Jersey points classification. Tiberi tops the young rider standings. Tomorrow's 10 km ascent of Jebel Hafeet, averaging 6-7% with a maximum of 11%, will determine whether Tiberi can convert his advantage into an overall title.

Image credits: RCS/ Luca Bettini / SprintCyclingAgency

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Peter

Peter Stuart

Editor

Peter is the editor of Velora and oversees Velora’s editorial strategy and content standards, bringing nearly 20 years of cycling journalism to the site. He was editor of Cyclingnews from 2022, introducing its digital membership strategy and expanding its content pillars. Before that he was digital editor at Cyclist and then Rouleur having joined Cyclist in 2012 after freelance work for titles including The Times and The Telegraph. He has reported from Grand Tours and WorldTour races, and previously represented Great Britain as a rower.