Stefan Bissegger the fastest at the UAE Tour Time Trial
Swiss time trial specialist averaged 55km/h on way to UAE Tour stage 3 victory and the overall as the race heads into the mountains
One year ago to the day, Stefan Bissegger sat on the hot seat at the UAE Tour and watched world champion Filippo Ganna narrowly take his first WorldTour victory away from him. Today, on stage 3 of the 2022 edition, the Swiss rider was out on a redemption tour.
Bissegger took an impressive win in a hotly contested time trial, averaging over 55 kilometers per hour over the 9-kilometer course which also saw him move into the overall lead.
“It’s nice in the end that you really win, that you made it, because you know in a time trial, it is always hard to say how good the others are,” said Bissegger at the finish. “Somebody could have the best day of his life, so you never know till the end. But I knew when I was at the finish line with my time, I knew I was going really good.”
One year ago to the day, Stefan Bissegger sat on the hot seat at the UAE Tour and watched world champion Filippo Ganna narrowly take his first WorldTour victory away from him. Today, on stage 3 of the 2022 edition, the Swiss rider was out on a redemption tour.
Bissegger took an impressive win in a hotly contested time trial, averaging over 55 kilometers per hour over the 9-kilometer course which also saw him move into the overall lead.
“It’s nice in the end that you really win, that you made it, because you know in a time trial, it is always hard to say how good the others are,” said Bissegger at the finish. “Somebody could have the best day of his life, so you never know till the end. But I knew when I was at the finish line with my time, I knew I was going really good.”
Bissegger proved he could time trial with the best on his maiden year in the WorldTour. After his second place finish at the 2021 UAE Tour Time trial, he went on to win the time trial at Paris-Nice and the Benelux Tour, while posting some impressive performances at the Tour de France. He also proved he could do it on the road, when he took an especially meaningful win at his home race - the Tour de Suisse.
His preparation for the 2022 season however has been less than ideal. “I was looking forward to this time-trial for a long time. I had kind of a rough winter as well with my broken scaphoid,” said Bissegger. “It took a long time before this was fixed. But now I am really happy that I made it.
Bissegger will go into the first mountain test of the week wearing the leader’s jersey. The summit finish atop Jebel Jais is sure to be a stage for the climbers but you can be sure that he will give it his all tomorrow.
VIDEO: 2022 UAE Tour Stage 3 Highlights
2022 UAE Tour Stage 3 Top 10
1 Stefan Bissegger (Swi) EF Education-EasyPost 00:09:43
2 Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers 00:00:07
3 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 00:00:14
4 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:18
5 João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:22
6 Mikkel Bjerg (Den) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:24
7 Stefan De Bod (RSA) Astana Qazaqstan Team
8 Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:00:25
9 Johan Price Pejtersen (Den) Bahrain Victorious 00:00:26
10 Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 00:00:28
2022 UAE GC after Stage 3
1 Stefan Bissegger (Swi) EF Education-EasyPost 09:13:02
2 Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers 00:00:07
3 Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 00:00:12
4 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 00:00:14
5 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:18
6 João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:22
7 Stefan De Bod (RSA) Astana Qazaqstan Team 00:00:24
8 Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:00:25
9 Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-EasyPost 00:00:28
10 Adam Yates (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 00:00:29