No Mark Cavendish but Gleb Syritsa steps up for Astana at UAE Tour

Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) may have won in style on Saturday afternoon at the UAE Tour, but it was Astana Qazaqstan's Gleb Syritsa who caught the eye of most in attendance.

Punching a hole in the wind almost twice the size of a regular sprinter, the 6'2", 85kg Russian made his bid for the line with some 300m to go on stage 6.

It was not to be in the end for the fan favourite, who won two stages of the Tour de Langkawi last season, with Syritsa fading to fifth at the line. Even still, his is performance quickly earned the plaudits of teammate Michael Mørkøv, who had produced a textbook lead-out for the second time in as many days.

Read more: 'Perfect' lead-out for Mark Cavendish leaves Astana satisfied at UAE Tour

"He is definitely a very talented rider, a very strong sprinter and he's still quite young," Mørkov said to GCN just after crossing the line. "He is still trying to find his way and what he should focus on, but of course it is a privilege to have a guy who steps up when we unfortunately couldn't ride with Mark today."

With no Mark Cavendish in their ranks - the Manxman had left the race on Saturday morning with a fever - little was expected of Astana Qazaqstan on stage 6 of the UAE Tour. Eyebrows were raised, then, when the pearl blue jerseys marshalled the front of the peloton periodically throughout the afternoon.

Undeterred by the absence of their star man, it seemed as though the Kazakh WorldTeam would try their hand in the sprint finish with the large Russian sprinter, Syritsa.

"Unfortunately our TVs stopped working with 5km to go, so I didn't really get to see," chuckled Renshaw in conversation with GCN at the team minibus.

"From what they've told me, they executed the plan that we came up with this morning and they delivered, so onwards and upwards."

Piecing together the events of the sprint post-fact, it became clear that Astana Qazaqstan had enjoyed a day in the saddle much like that of stage 5. Determined to put failures earlier in the week behind them, the team performed with vigour inside the final kilometres, before a fading sprint ultimately proved their downfall.

"He opened the sprint first, but Merlier came with speed from behind. I think he deserves the podium today but he just misjudged it, maybe a little bit [of] no legs just in the deep final, but there's top 10 sprinters in the world here, so as our back-up plan, he's good!" continued Renshaw.

In fact, Astana's 'back-up plan' took a better result than their lead sprinter managed, with Cavendish's best result of the week being 17th.

Speaking at the winner's press conference, Merlier's account of the finale supported the idea that Syritsa had hit the wind just a tad early to hold on for what would have been an impressive podium position.

"It was really fast. I was a bit surprised we were already in the final kilometre," he said, detailing his path to a third win of the week. "At 300m to go I think Gleb was already sprinting, I could use the slipstream and with 250m to go, I went all-in."

© Tim de Waele/Velo Collection via Getty Images

Tim Merlier (far left) delivered the first blow to Syritsa, before the Astana man drifted down to fifth

As Merlier celebrated with a Spiderman salute over the line - in an ode to one of Bert Van Lerberghe's children - Syritsa was left to ponder what might have been. The 23-year-old approached Mørkøv during the Dane's discussion with GCN and acknowledged his failing legs in the final metres.

But quick to raise the spirits of the Russian, Mørkøv patted his teammate on the back and applauded the efforts of Syritsa.

"When you sprint for the victory, it is already very impressive," he told his colleague.

Acting as a last-minute stand-in for Cavendish at the head of Astana's sprint ambitions, it was clear to see that Syritsa had taken the opportunity with both hands, both before and during the stage.

Cavendish withdraws but Syritsa grasps rare opportunity

Mulling around the team's gazebo prior to the stage, Cavendish had shared a few minutes to take pictures with some of those who had seemingly stumbled upon the race after a visit to the Louvre Abu Dhabi. However, whilst still wearing his racing gear and helmet, the 38-year-old stepped into a team car and was not to be seen again.

Read more: Mark Cavendish says Astana lead-out 'over-eager but learning' after first UAE Tour sprint

Suffering from a fever, Cavendish's exit came at late notice for the team.

"Just before the start he didn't feel so well, so the doctor decided that he shouldn't start and then Gleb got the chance," recalled Mørkøv.

But in the Brit's absence, Syritsa was able to enjoy the experience of being piloted to the finish by one of the greatest lead-out riders of his generation.

"Gleb is really happy," said Renshaw. "It's the first time he gets the lounge chair behind Michael Mørkøv where you get to sit and just relax. He said he just sat in the wheel, no stress, fully relaxed and could focus on the sprint."

Having been chauffeured into the final 500m, Syritsa latched onto the wheel of Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates), who has been notably sprinting from far out all week. Sensing weakness from the Colombian, the Astana man rounded Molano just inside 200m to go, but as Renshaw noted, his legs gave way shortly before the line.

Nonetheless, fifth place is easily the best result that Astana Qazaqstan has achieved all week and even more impressive given the Russian's lack of experience behind Cavendish's right-hand man.

"It is really the first time we have sprinted with Gleb, not in training either," revealed Mørkov. "But you see in him the motivation when he was told Mark was not starting. He got a big chance against the best sprinters in the world and I'm happy that he took it."

Attention will now turn to the seventh and final stage of this year's UAE Tour for Astana Qazaqstan, in which Harold Martín López will look to perform well on Jebel Hafeet and manoeuvre his way into the top 10 overall.

For all the important information about the 2024 UAE Tour, be sure to check out our dedicated race hub for our full preview, the race startlist and much more.