{"id":490884,"date":"2026-02-19T20:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T20:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/490884\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T20:30:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T20:30:10","slug":"close-call-for-new-american-cycling-team-in-hunt-for-first-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/490884\/","title":{"rendered":"Close Call for New American Cycling Team in Hunt for First Win"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Drama at the UAE Tour: Modern Adventure narrowly misses maiden victory and a front tire blowout causes high-speed crash involving Jakobsen and others.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Jonathan Milan\" src=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/milanwin.jpg\" data-loaded=\"true\" fetchpriority=\"high\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"2100\" height=\"1181\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent\"  bad-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/milanwin.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"fp-leadCaption py-tight text-left font-utility text-utility3-size leading-utility3-line-height text-secondary\">Milan celebrates victory in a wild stage marked by crashes and a last-minute catch.  (Photo: Getty Images\/UAE Tour feed)<\/p>\n<p>Updated February 19, 2026 10:25AM<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_self\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/tag\/modern-adveture-pro-cycling\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Modern Adventure Pro Cycling<\/a> lit up the <a target=\"_self\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/tag\/UAE-Tour\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">UAE Tour<\/a> with a long, 174m breakaway Thursday that was caught within sight of the finish line in a crash-marred stage as the new American cycling team continues to chase its first win.<\/p>\n<p>Stefan De Bod was part of a five-rider break that pulled clear in the rolling stage 4 only to be reeled in by the sprinter teams just a few hundred meters short of the tape.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_self\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/tag\/jonathan-milan\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Jonathan Milan<\/a> (Lidl-Trek) powered to victory ahead of his younger brother, Matteo Milan at Groupama-FDJ, who crossed the line third in the frenetic bunch sprint after the catch was made.<\/p>\n<p>Modern Adventure\u2019s Riley Pickrell kicked to eighth to give the team its second top 10 in a WorldTour race in what\u2019s been an action-packed debut season for the U.S.-backed squad.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had my doubts about the sprint because the breakaway was really strong. They were always two or three minutes ahead of us. My guys have been strong to chase them down,\u201d Milan said after his third win of 2026. \u201cOnly with 1km to go, I was a bit more relaxed but the last kilometer is always like a washing machine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m also very happy for my younger brother Matteo who also makes the top 3. This is our first race together. I\u2019m glad he didn\u2019t beat me today but maybe one day he will.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another brutal crash in the bunch<br \/>\n<img alt=\"Stefan De Bod\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-977757\" style=\"color:transparent\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2262432499-720x480.jpg\"\/>De Bod leads the way in the breakaway that went to the red kite.  (Photo: Tim de Waele\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Behind the bunch kick, the peloton\u2019s unluckiest rider <a target=\"_self\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/tag\/fabio-jakobsen\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Fabio Jakobsen<\/a> was caught up in a high-speed crash with about 30km to go.<\/p>\n<p>Several other riders went down as well, including Daan Hoole (Decathlon CMA CGM) \u00a0and Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step). Robbe Ghys (Decathlon CMA CGM) was forced to abandon.<\/p>\n<p>Jakobsen, 29, finished the race with his jersey completely in tatters. It\u2019s the latest high-speed crash to mar early-season races in the Middle East, including <a target=\"_self\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/news\/the-brutal-toll-of-crashing-a-bike-at-100kph\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">the brutal 100kph-plus crash at the Tour of Oman<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Images of the aftermath of the crash revealed that Jakobsen\u2019s foam insert and front tire had completely blown off his front wheel and were tangled up in his fork.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI rode over something, and my front tire blew. I went straight down,\u201d he said to Dutch TV.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>It was unclear what had provoked the crash, and there were no other details immediately after the stage.<\/p>\n<p>Wheel manufacturer Ursus released this statement to <a target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/safety\/fabio-jakobsens-tyre-and-insert-blown-clean-off-his-mini-hook-rims-in-uae-tour-crash\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cyclingnews<\/a>: \u201cIt was clarified that Fabio Jakobsen hit a rock while riding at speed, which impacted on both the tire and the rim. This caused the tire\u2019s coming off the rim.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Dutch sprinter at Picnic-PostNL has seen his career repeatedly derailed by violent crashes, most dramatically at his near-fatal 2020 Tour de Pologne finish line horror show.<\/p>\n<p>Last season was marked by double surgery <a target=\"_self\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;opi=89978449&amp;url=https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/news\/top-pro-cyclist-forced-to-retire-with-dreaded-artery-condition\/&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiGmvH67-WSAxVjh_0HHeEFDe0QFnoECCYQAQ&amp;usg=AOvVaw2pa_qSbu-2DOY9V0saWBRW\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">to correct\u00a0iliac artery endofibrosis\u00a0in both legs<\/a>, only to fracture a collarbone in his comeback races late last year in a winless season.<\/p>\n<p>Jakobsen finished the stage and there were no major shakeups in the GC after <a target=\"_self\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/tag\/remco-evenepoel\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Remco Evenepoel<\/a>, who lost time in <a target=\"_self\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/evenepoel-collapse-a-red-flag-or-just-a-bad-day\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wednesday\u2019s brutal climb<\/a>, finished safely in the main bunch.<\/p>\n<p>Another bunch kick is expected Friday, with Saturday\u2019s summit finale to likely crown the winner ahead of Sunday\u2019s finale.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Drama at the UAE Tour: Modern Adventure narrowly misses maiden victory and a front tire blowout causes high-speed&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":490885,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,214038,63,784,68224,85,235594,157913,100857,245311,67883],"class_list":["post-490884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-au","tag-audio-true","tag-australia","tag-cycling","tag-parent_category-road","tag-sports","tag-tag-fabio-jakobsen","tag-tag-modern-adventure-pro-cycling","tag-tag-remco-evenepoel","tag-tag-uae-tour","tag-type-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/490885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}