Like the first two stages, stage 5 of the UAE Tour was supposed to be a mostly straightforward day for the sprinters, except for the wind. [Alpecin Phoenix's Jasper Philipsen again won in a group sprint finish.

UAE Team Emirates leader Pogachar, in red after his victory in Jebel Jais on Wednesday, had a tumultuous start to the stage.

"There was no need to panic. With 7km to go, his rear wheel got a puncture and he had to chase down a peloton that took off.

One, two, four people were called back to help him, and with four kilometers to go to the finish he was back in the lead. It was a moment of controlled panic.

"I believe in Mickael [Bjarg]. He brought me back and all the other guys were a perfect team. So there was no stress at all," he said, dismissing what appeared to be a high-stress situation, at least from the outside.

The puncture in the rear was not the first dramatic incident Pogachar was involved in on this stage: about 130 km earlier, after 40 km of racing, a crosswind blew in and split the peloton.

Pogachar and his UAE teammates were in the lead group of 35, with Ineos Grenadier's Filippo Ganna and Adam Yates struggling in the back. With the early breakaway group in disarray, the first intermediate sprint took place, and the green jersey of Philipsen jumped out to score bonus points.

Pogachar, another aggressive rider, though not a sprinter, was looking to extend his lead by a few seconds whenever possible.

"I felt really great today at Alpecin Phoenix," he said.

"I participated in every attack with the team. It was another great team effort and we had about 35 riders for the bonus sprint. I saw an opportunity to gain a few seconds. But Jasper was faster."

Pogachar compared the wide highways of the UAE to the narrow roads of the Tour de France in terms of the echelon (a section of crosswind) seen early in the stage.

"The echelon is pretty scary stuff," he admitted.

"Here in the UAE, it's a big road, so if you're strong you can go up. But in Europe, if you're not in the right position, if you're strong you can't do anything."

"Echelon is huge in cycling. You have to move with the team, stay united, and always be in the right position.