Riders and officials at the Dubai Tour were unanimous in their belief that cancelling stage four of the race due to high winds was the correct decision.
The race's queen stage was affected by sandstorms and excessively high winds from the start, and after first reducing the stage in length and rerouting it to include three ascents of Hatta Dam, organisers RCS Sport eventually said that the race was unable to continue given the conditions.
It means that Marcel Kittel - winner of the first two stages and the victim of a punch yesterday - is on the verge of winning the tour for the second successive year, with just tomorrow's expected sprint finish to come.
Kittel was one of the first to back the organisers, writing on Twitter:
John Degenkolb, who could have feasibly inherited the leader's jersey off Kittel if the stage had been allowed to go ahead, also backed the decision.
One Pro Cycling founder Matt Prior agreed with the decision, too.
Trek-Segafredo's American rider Kiel Reignen believes that the right choice was made given safety issues, before explaining the difficulty of racing in such conditions.
With a series of high-profile disagreements between riders and the UCI in recent years, Rory Sutherland says today's ruling was a big step forward.
Aqua Blue Sport's Stefan Denifl raised a similar point.
Riders, including reportedly Mark Cavendish, proposed a time trial, but UCI regulations would not have approved it.
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Dubai Tour leader Elia Viviani wary of threats to overall victory ahead of final stageThe Italian holds the lead by four seconds, and needs to prevent those closest to him in GC from taking the time bonuses on stage five
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‘I didn’t realise how steep the final climb was’: Brandon McNulty reflects on Dubai Tour solo effort near miss
The young American was caught agonisingly close to the line on the uphill finish to Hatta Dam
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Mark Cavendish rues missed opportunity after Dubai Tour stage three win
The Manxman expressed regret at stopping his sprint early on stage two, which could have cost him the chance to take the overall lead in the race
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Dylan Groenewegen blasts team mechanics after losing Dubai Tour lead through time penalty
The Dutchman moved out of the overall lead of the Dubai Tour after being penalised for drafting cars
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Dylan Groenewegen loses Dubai Tour lead due to 20-second penalty for drafting team car
Dylan Groenewegen saw himself lose the overall lead of the Dubai Tour courtesy of a 20-second time penalty imposed for drafting behind his team car.
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Mark Cavendish: 'I thought Viviani was going to die, but he just accelerated. I couldn't have gone any harder'
Dimension Data leader Mark Cavendish said he “couldn’t have gone harder” in the sprint on stage two of the Dubai Tour, which he lost to Elia Viviani.
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Elia Viviani recovers from late puncture to win stage two of the Dubai Tour
Elia Viviani recovered from a puncture with 20km to go to out-sprint race leader Dylan Groenewegen on stage two of the Dubai Tour.
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Mark Cavendish left frustrated after gearing problem ruins brilliant lead-out effort
Mark Cavendish was left frustrated on the final stage of the Dubai Tour after a gearing problem meant he was unable to finish off a 'brilliant' lead-out.
