New race attracts eleven WorldTour teams, including some of cycling’s best-known names
Some of the world’s top riders have been confirmed for the new Dubai Tour, with world champion Rui Costa (Lampre Merida), double Tour de France green jersey winner Peter Sagan (Cannondale Pro Cycling), multiple Tour de France sprint stage winner Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma Quick Step), the 2013 Tour’s dominant sprinter Marcel Kittel (Argos Shimano), four time world time trial champion Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) and world number one Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) all listed today as riding the race.
A total of eleven of the world’s top teams will head to the race, each of them from the UCI WorldTour. Five others will also ride; the first three teams in the 2013 Asia Tour ranking, the national team from the United Arab Emirates and the Dubai Sky Dive team.
The new 2.1ranked race will begin in 57 days time, getting underway with a ten kilometre individual time trial run off from the Dubai World Trade Centre on February 5th. In fact, the same location will get each stage underway.
That opening leg will be called the Down Town stage, reflecting its setting. Day two runs 122 kilometres, passes some of the best-known sports buildings in Dubai such as the Hippodrome, the Olympic pool, the Al Qudra cycling path, the Autodrome and the Golf Club, and will be called the Sport Stage.
The following day is titles the Nature Stage and is the longest at 162 kilometres. It passes through the desert and finishes in Hatta. The Old Dubai Stage concludes the action on February 8th, again beginning at the Dubai World Trade Centre and passing through the old part of the city.
Along the way to the finish, the riders will pass the famous Burj Al Arab building and the Burj Khalifa, which is the tallest skyscraper in the World at 830 metres high.
The race will be run by the Dubai Sports Council plus RCS Sport, the organisers of the Giro d’Italia, and will feature live HD coverage on a number of channels including Dubai Sports, EuroSport and RAI.
RCS Sport Commercial Director Lorenzo Giorgetti noted that the start is less than two months away and that things are falling into place for what he and others hope will be a successful debut.
“The course presentation, the sponsor’s introduction and the appointment of the TV broadcaster are all part of this great project that we have developed together in the last few months,” he said. “We are sure that this unique event will be widely appreciated at an international level”.
Saeed Hareb, the Chairman of the Dubai Tour High Committee, said that the race would serve to put the spotlight on Dubai as a hub international sporting events.
“We thank those who have made this possible, from the leadership of the Dubai Sports Council to our event partners RSC Sports, as well as sponsors and the media,” he stated. “We are looking forward to a dramatic and exciting race featuring some of the most popular names in the sport as they battle to win the honor and prestige of winning the first Dubai Tour title.”
UCI president Brian Cookson expressed his belief that the race illustrated the growth in the sport in the United Arab Emirates and that he felt that the city would also be showcased through the various types of coverage that the race will attract.