After Tuesday’s brilliant opening stage where Team dsm-firmenich PostNL took victory with Casper van Uden, the team were out to defend and honour the jersey on stage two. Controlling the day from the off through the potentially treacherous desert winds, the team worked well to position and set up Nils Eekhoff and Van Uden, with the duo sprinting to the line for a double top five finish on the day.
Rolling out from AlUla Winter Park the bunch were faced with the longest stage of the race and an almost 200 kilometre route through the desert awaited them, with a dragging climb in the finale. It was a steady start to the day with a break of five escaping and the team took control at the front with Enzo Leijnse doing an exceptional job setting the pace at the head of the bunch. There was some nervousness in the air with potential crosswinds sections but the team were alert to the danger and made sure they were always on the right side of any splits. Nothing serious materialised and the splits were undone as the peloton headed towards the climb in the finale. Working well as a group the team held their position at the front as the bunch thinned down. Towards and over the top of the ascent the attacks started to fly but Eekhoff and Van Uden dug in to follow the very best, setting up a fast finale. Eekhoff hit the front in the final few hundred metres with Van Uden in tow, both giving their all to the line, with Eekhoff holding on for third while Van Uden took fifth; cementing another good day out for the team at AlUla Tour.
