Grand Tour stars fail to ignite Abu Dhabi Tour: 'it was a stand off'

Vincenzo Nibali, Romain Bardet and Fabio Aru explain why the big Grand Tour stars let Rui Costa and Ilnur Zakarin fight for Abu Dhabi Tour glory

Nairo Quintana and Alberto Contador on stage three of the 2017 Abu Dhabi Tour.

(Image credit: ANSA/CLAUDIO PERI)

The 'queen' stage of the Abu Dhabi Tour on Saturday ended as many western films do: with a stand off. But in this case, the main protagonists were all left standing.

Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo), Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale)... They all attacked, bridged or marked, but none fired the deadly bullet that would make the Jabel Hafeet film a classic.

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Gregor Brown

Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.