Tadej Pogačar's chances at the UAE Tour suffered significant blows as sprinter Sebastian Molano withdrew after crashing during stage 1, sustaining a badly sprained ankle. Meanwhile, Olav Kooij from the Visma-Lease a Bike team also exited the race due to unidentified illness, impacting the team's overall competitiveness. Kooij, expected to contend in several sprint finishes, had expressed poor fitness prior to his departure. With both riders gone, teams face challenges in their strategic planning for the remaining stages.
A follow-up revision revealed a badly sprained ankle and due to the heavy swelling and discomfort we took the decision it was best for him not to start.
We knew in advance that he did not feel fit, so the main thing was to survive this stage.
Unfortunately, Olav Kooij will be leaving the UAE Tour. He has not been feeling well for a few days and needs time to recover.
He will now travel home for further rest and monitoring.
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