This time, the 26-year-old was completely on her own in the final. Her rider Barbara Guarischi was no longer in the draw early on. With one and a half kilometres left of the 121 kilometres around Abu Dhabi, Wiebes was already in third position and had to shimmy from rear wheel to rear wheel to avoid having to open the sprint too early. This would have been problematic, especially in the strong headwind.

German champion Franziska Koch (FDJ United - SUEZ) also had to realise this. She tried in a similar way to the previous day, when she attacked around 500 metres before the finish but was then outsprinted from all sides. This time it didn't go any better - even if it looked promising for a moment.

Laura Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ), on the other hand, put in a strong performance, seriously challenging Wiebes this time and finishing second just half a bike length behind. Wiebes had recently won with a lead of several metres. "Barbara and I lost each other and then I had to somehow see if I could manage myself. But it still went well. The team still worked well today and made sure that we caught up with the breakaway in time," said Wiebes in the winner's interview. The Swiss rider Steffi Häberlin in particular played a big part in bringing back the last breakaway of the day, Nina Berton (EF Education-Oatly) from Luxembourg, around the five-kilometre mark.

On the final stage of the four-day tour, Wiebes, who has an 18-second lead over Gillespie in the overall classification and a 30-second lead over all those who were unable to gain bonus seconds, is unlikely to play a role. The mountain arrival at Jebel Hafeet awaits, which will decide the overall victory of the UAE Tour Women.

>> UAE Tour Women: The route, TV times & favourites

UAE Tour Women 2026 - Results 3rd stage