Lorena Wiebes' road racing debut with SD Works came crashing down in the closing stages of the first stage of the UAE Tour Women's. Dutchwoman Lorena Wiebes, one of the sprinters and GC contenders, hit the pavement in a chaotic run-in, but successfully got back on her bike and finished second in Dubai Harbour.

"Of course, I am disappointed with that crash. Of course, it always takes a lot of strength to crash like that.

The opening stage was expected to see some echelon action in the crosswind, but the wind was not strong enough to open the gap in earnest. Instead, the race was dominated by crashes on the wide roads through the streets of Dubai, with two pileups in the last 4 km.

Vives was one of the riders who crashed with 3.8 km to go, but he returned to the front with the help of his new SD Worx teammates in time for the sprint, finishing second behind former teammate Charlotte Cour (Team DSM).

"A rider crashed right in front of my front wheel. It was impossible to dodge him at that speed and I fell over. I've never been back on the bike this fast before. A fall like that always takes a lot of energy. I can feel now that I will be stiff tomorrow because of the fall. Thanks to the adrenaline, I might still be able to win a stage tomorrow," said Vives.

Tereza Neumanova (Liv Racing TeqFind) was also involved in the same crash, but quickly recovered and sprinted up to sixth place.

"I was involved in a crash 4km from the finish. Luckily Talita [de Jong] was able to bring me back to the peloton. [Tamara Dronova, Tzat Nguyen (both Israel-Premier Tech-Laurent), Ilia Sanguineti (Trek-Segafredo), and Agnieszka Karniak-Sojska (Canyon-SRAM) tried to do well in the sprint race, but disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Emma.

The sprint train of Emma Norsgaard's Movistar team was also derailed by the final crash of the day, 2.7 km from the finish.

"It ended up being a super messy sprint, quite dangerous, and there was a big, big crash. I wasn't able to sprint with Emma. I tried to stay with the girls and stay in Emma's circle, but we crashed and lost each other. Norsgaard's teammate Liane Lippert recalled the final as "really, really messed up."

Lippert won the second intermediate sprint of the day, earning a three-second bonus second. The German champion heads into Friday's second stage in fourth place overall.

Several climbers who had arrived in the UAE for the mountain finish of stage 3 also had their races interrupted: Claire Steels (Israel Premier Tech-Laurent), Esme Peperkamp (Team DSM), Petra Stiasny (Phoenix -Deseunink), Pauliena Royackers (Canyon-SRAM), Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo), and Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ) finished behind the peloton.

Longo Borghini and Persico lost no time as they crashed in the last 3km. The other four GC riders are now 25 seconds ahead of the rest of the GC field.

There were several crashes before the final due to wheel contact in the crosswind. Tonight, many riders suffered bruises and road roughness, but most did not suffer serious injuries. Matilde Bertolini (Beepink) was the only rider to crash early in the stage and then abandon the race without contact with the peloton.

The UAE Tour Women's race is a sprint race, with two more bunch-kicking opportunities, from Al Dhafra Castle to Al Mirfa on stage 2 and from Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy to the Abu Dhabi breakwater on stage 4.

"I'm glad the leadout worked out," Weaves said of the SD Worx train. I will do my best to win tomorrow. I'll do everything I can to win tomorrow."