Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) knows the climb to Jebel Jais better than most riders, having raced at the UAE Tour every year since 2021. When asked what it takes to win on the 21.1km ascent ahead of stage 3, he told Cyclingnews, unambiguously, "Tadej Pogačar".
To the Dane, it was as simple as that, and once the 181 kilometres of stage 3 at the 2025 UAE Tour had ticked by, it was indeed Pogačar who, of course, sprinted away from his rivals to take his first victory of the season and move into the race leader's jersey.
He laid some doubt into the minds of those watching when he swung out from his team's well-established train with 16km to go, however, still his UAE teammates pushed on the front stoically. Without a team full of their best climbing support, Pogačar confirmed that there was no mystery or secret to his decision to sit further back in the group, simply avoiding the wind and waiting for the explosive finale.
"No, everybody knows what is the point of this climb, [there's] no science fiction here," said Pogačar in his post-race press conference, when asked if he was trying to goad other teams into working with his move backwards.
"Everybody that has watched this race knows that this climb is pretty shallow and windy. So always when it is a headwind, the guys that are pulling are suffering and the more that you're in the bunch, the easier it is."
Having won on Jebel Jais before in 2022, Pogačar was never under any illusion that it would be anything but a sprint. The chance for big-time gaps and confirming victory will be decided on Sunday's final stage to Jebel Hafeet.
"Actually, I hoped that Tarling would keep closer so he would ride still in the red jersey, so I could ride with the rainbows, but I'm really happy to take the leader jersey," said Pogačar, who went into the overall lead despite a valiant ride from Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers), who lost 26 seconds.
"But also, I knew that in this climb it's really hard to make any differences or to make the attacks because it's not the hardest.
"Every year that this race happens here is always a sprint of the GC riders and Jebel Hafeet is much steeper and a much harder climb, so obviously it's easier to have bigger gaps."
Pogačar now leads the UAE Tour by 18 seconds from Tarling, with Movistar duo Pablo Castrillo and Iván Romeo sitting third and fourth, 23 and 24 seconds back, respectively. Runner-up on stage 1 Finn Fisher-Black is similarly still in potential striking distance at a 26-second deficit.
In the pre-race press conference, Pogačar said there were some doubts about his form as there always are at the start of a new season. However, today's sprint finale certainly answered some of Pogačar's questions of his own form. The best is still yet to come.
"For sure, today was some confirmation that the winter was good," Pogačar said.
"Already yesterday [in the time trial], I could see that the level of the shape of my legs is pretty good. So yeah, it's kind of a good warm-up for the next races and gives me an extra motivation boost."
Pogačar may not have used any "science fiction" to help him take victory on stage 3 but he did have some added incentive with his mother, father and sister all at the start and finish to cheer him on. It's a rare occurrence for the superstar rider but he more than appreciated them being there.
"It's really great that they had a chance to come here, finally, to this race, to see this race," he said. "I think they are enjoying it and I was enjoying also because I saw them before the start line today, and also I knew they're gonna be here at the finish. It's a big motivation."
Season 2025 is just starting for Pogačar but the dominance of last year doesn't look too far away. Jebel Jais, after all, was just the starter to the main course that is Jebel Hafeet. That climb will be the first opportunity to really show off the legs and try to confirm a third title at his team's home race.
