For the Ineos Grenadiers, the third stage time trial of the UAE Tour was a mixed bag.

The British team, featuring world champion Filippo Ganna, was considered a major contender in the 9km individual time trial in Ajman, but lost out to Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-Easy Post), who finished second.

Meanwhile, Luke Plapp, a highly regarded neo-pro, was forced to race on a road bike after crashing in the warm-up and breaking his bike.

Adam Yates, however, saved the day with his best time trial ever, and was set for another shot at the overall title.

Ganna started behind Bissegger, and the two were evenly matched at the halfway point. However, the two, who had previously enjoyed a tailwind, were headed home when the course turned into a headwind.

The aerodynamic Bissegger, with his low profile, was able to gain an additional 6 seconds on Ganna to take the overall win by 7 seconds. For the world champion, there were no complaints and no regrets.

"It was a great performance. My average power was more than planned and at the end of the day, Chapeau Bissegger. Great run.

"I felt good and will be ready to help Adam on the climb tomorrow and for the next few days.

Meanwhile, Plapp, who won the silver medal in the U23 World Championships time trial last fall, is expected to be a future star. However, in his first time trial as a professional rider, he deviated from the script and took to the starting blocks on a standard Pinarello road bike.

"Luke Plapp took on the TT on a road bike after a small crash on his time trial bike, Rickon, caused mechanical problems.

Yates then finished in 12th place, placing him in the top 10 overall.

A light climber, he is not well known in time trials, but has made great progress since joining Ineos last year. With an average speed of 53 km/h, he is just 0.5 seconds behind Bissegger.

In terms of overall standings, Yates was 15 seconds ahead of the highest-placed Tom Dumoulin (Jumbo Visma), but perhaps the biggest gap was with Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates), who beat him for the 2021 title and also beat him for the 2020 title

Tulkis.

Pogachar, the Tour de France champion, finished fourth, 11 seconds behind Yates. It was an encouraging performance considering that last year Yates was only a few kilometers behind him, 34 seconds ahead of him.

"I didn't think it was a good run! The first TT of the year is always super hard. I followed the plan and did everything I could," Yates said. [He was consistent in the Jebel Jais summit finish on stage 4, followed by the Jebel Hafit summit finish in 2020, where he beat Pogachar by a minute, but lost last year in the sprint.

"Tomorrow is the first mountain stage, but it's not super difficult, and last year there was a group of 30 at the finish. But it's the first mountain stage of the year and I'll give it my best."