Climbers only had one day to test their legs in the sprint-competitive UAE Tour Women's race.

The second stage of the UAE Tour Women's race saw fewer changes in the overall standings than expected, as the race was broken up by heavy crosswinds right from the start. However, several key riders lost time, including FDJ-SUEZ teammates Marta Cavalli and Grace Brown.

The peloton was again broken up as they raced from Al Dhafra Castle to Al Mirfa on a windswept road, eventually encountering a headwind in the last 50 km.

However, a decisive split occurred in the critical crosswind section of the last 10 km, with Cavalli and Brown being the most notable casualties. In contrast, Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) was always in the lead group and enjoyed the stage.

"I enjoyed today. The crosswinds and echelon made for an exciting stage. I was always in the lead group to avoid any surprises." The way the stage was going, I could have made more time. Tomorrow will be a day of truth.

Longo Borghini is one of the best-positioned riders on GC ahead of the decisive third stage, which finishes atop Jebel Hafeet. She and Liane Lippert (Team DSM) are 13 seconds behind overall leader Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM), with Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ) another second behind.

Persico was also part of the lead group. She suffered mechanical trouble with 104km to go and rejoined the lead group, but contact was eventually lost 74km from the finish.

Luckily for her, she was able to join the large chase group that Lippert had been in throughout the race. Most of the GC contenders had joined this group, which ultimately kept them out of trouble. Sixteen seconds out of the leader jersey were Simone Boillard (San Michele Mavic Ober 93), Kristen Faulkner (Team Jayco Alura), Soraya Paradin, Elise Chaby (both Canyon SRAM), Anna Shackley (Team SD Walks) and Gaia Lealini (Trek-Segafredo) have a good chance of finishing in the top GC spots if they can regain their climbing legs on stage 3. Cavalli and Brown, as well as Claire Steels (Israel-Premier Tech-Laurent), Nina Buisman (Human Powered Health), Mikayla Harvey (UAE Team ADQ), Esme Peperkamp (Team DSM), Nikola Noskova ( Zaf Cycling Team), and Pauliena Loijackers (Canyon-SRAM) also dropped out in the final crosswind. Buisman, Harvey, Brown, Cavalli, and Noskova are 47 seconds back, while Stiels, Peppelkamp, and Loijackers are 1:12 back after losing time due to being involved in a crash late in the first stage.

The 11km climb to Jebel Hafit at 700m elevation is a challenge, but given the time difference between stages 1 and 2, it will take a truly phenomenal performance to move into the overall lead.