The Abu Dhabi Tour opened with a podium for BAHRAIN MERIDA Pro Cycling Team in the sprinter stage with start and finish in Madinat Zayed (189 km) raced almost entirely in the desert, Niccol
Bonifazio took a special third place in the bunch sprint, behind the winner Cavendish and Greipel (2nd).
Thanks to this result Bonny is rewarded with the White Jersey of best Young Rider.
Stage 1 of Abu Dhabi Tour, which is the unique WorldTour race in the Middle East, has earlier been enlivened by a six-man breakaway, but any of our riders joined it. In the final 5km a crash involved Kittel and Ewan, two among the favourites of today stage. Luckily BAHRAIN MERIDA riders have no consequences.
Speaking just after the finish, Bonifazio said: "After the big crash I was behind Greipel in a very good position. Maybe I came out a bit too early, but I'm very satisfied. This white jersey is for my team-mates
Sports Director Gorazd ?tangelj added: "The Team was great. We raced well, cover in the bunch and we came out just 3km to go. It’s a good start and tomorrow Bonifazio will have another chance."
Tomorrow, indeed, there will be another sprinter stage and the "Best Young Rider" Bonifazio focuses to improve even more his today's result.

Source: BNA