UAE Tour
The UAE Tour (Arabic: جولة الإمارات) are road cycling stage races in the United Arab Emirates. A men's event was first held in 2019 as part of the UCI World Tour. It was created as a result of the merging of the Abu Dhabi Tour and the Dubai Tour. A women's event was first held in 2023 as part of the UCI Women's World Tour.
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | February |
| Region | United Arab Emirates |
| Discipline | Road |
| Competition | UCI World Tour |
| Type | Stage race |
| Organiser | RCS Sport |
| Web site | theuaetour |
| History (men) | |
| First edition | 2019 |
| Editions | 6 (as of 2024) |
| First winner | Primož Roglič (SLO) |
| Most wins | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) (2 wins) |
| Most recent | Lennert Van Eetvelt (BEL) |
| History (women) | |
| First edition | 2023 |
| Editions | 2 (as of 2024) |
| First winner | Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA) |
| Most recent | Lotte Kopecky (BEL) |
History
The Dubai Tour was first held in 2014, with the Abu Dhabi Tour first held in 2015. The Abu Dhabi Tour joined the UCI World Tour calendar in 2017.[1] In September 2018, the organisers of both races announced their intent to merge, resulting in the UAE Tour, a longer race that would use stages from both events.[1]
The first edition of the race took place between 24 February and 2 March 2019 as part of the 2019 UCI World Tour.[2] The 2020 UAE Tour was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the last two stages cancelled and teams quarantined before being able to leave the country.[3]
Women's race
In January 2023, organisers announced that a women's race would be held for the first time, as part of the UCI Women's World Tour.[4] This was first staged over 4 days in early February 2023, prior to the men's race.[5]
Route
The race uses similar stages to that of the Abu Dhabi Tour and Dubai Tour - a combination of flat sprint stages and mountain stages using climbs such as Jebel Jais and Jebel Hafeet.[6] Stages in the open desert can be affected by crosswinds.[6] A time trial is also usually part of the route, with the 2019 and 2023 editions featuring a team time trial.[6]
The Jebel Jais climb is usually considered the queen stage of the Tour, with 20 kilometres (12 mi) of climbing at 5%, with some 7% in the last 2 kilometres (1.2 mi).[7][8]
Winners
Elite Men
| Years | General classification |
Points classification |
Sprints classification |
Young rider classification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Primož Roglič (Team Jumbo–Visma) | Elia Viviani (Deceuninck–Quick-Step) | not awarded | David Gaudu (Groupama–FDJ) |
| 2020 | Adam Yates (Mitchelton–Scott) | Caleb Ewan (Lotto–Soudal) | Veljko Stojnić (Vini Zabù–KTM) | Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) |
| 2021[9] | Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) | David Dekker (Team Jumbo–Visma) | Tony Gallopin (AG2R Citroën Team) | Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) |
| 2022[10] | Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) | Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin–Fenix) | Dmitry Strakhov (Gazprom–RusVelo) | Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) |
| 2023[11] | Remco Evenepoel (Soudal–Quick-Step) | Tim Merlier (Soudal–Quick-Step) | Edward Planckaert (Alpecin–Deceuninck) | Remco Evenepoel (Soudal–Quick-Step) |
| 2024[12] | Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto–Dstny) | Tim Merlier (Soudal–Quick-Step) | Mark Stewart (Team Corratec–Vini Fantini) | Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto–Dstny) |
Wins per country
| Wins | Country |
|---|---|
| 3 | Slovenia |
| 2 | Belgium |
| 1 | Great Britain |
Elite Women
| Years | General classification |
Points classification |
Sprints classification |
Young rider classification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023[13] | Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek–Segafredo) | Charlotte Kool (Team DSM) | Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka (Canyon–SRAM) | Gaia Realini (Trek–Segafredo) |
| 2024[14] | Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx–Protime) | Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx–Protime) | Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx–Protime) | Neve Bradbury (Canyon–SRAM) |
See also
References
- "CyclingPub.com - Dubai Tour and Abu Dhabi Tour merge to create WorldTour race UAE Tour". cyclingpub.com. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- "UCI reveal WorldTour calendar for 2019". Cycling News. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- "Final UAE Tour stages called off after two coronavirus cases confirmed". cyclingnews.com. 2020-02-27. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- "UAE TOUR breaks new ground in the Middle East as Women's Race joins the UCI Women's Worldtour Calendar in 2023". 4 January 2023. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
- "UAE Tour Women 2023". cyclingnews.com. 2023-02-20. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- Moultrie, James (2023-02-16). "UAE Tour 2023 route". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- "UAE Tour 2019: Leader Roglic Sprints to Queen Stage Win | CyclingStage.com". cyclingstage.com/uae-tour-2019/stage-6-results-uae-2019/. 24 February 2019.
- Ryan, Barry (23 February 2022). "UAE Tour: Tadej Pogacar wins stage 4 on Jebel Jais mountain finish | CyclingStage.com". cyclingnews.com/races/uae-tour-2022/stage-4/results//.
- "Pogacar to make the UAE Tour his early-season standard". cyclingnews.com. 27 February 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
- Goddard, Ben (26 February 2022). "Tadej Pogačar seals UAE Tour victory atop Jebel Hafeet". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
- Ryan, Barry (26 February 2023). "Remco Evenepoel seals UAE Tour victory". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- "LENNERT VAN EETVELT HAS TURNED THE TABLES". www.theuaetour.com. 25 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- "Longo Borghini seals historic UAE Tour Women win after Kool sprints to victory". UAE Tour Women. 12 February 2023. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
- "THE RAINBOW SHINES OVER THE UAE TOUR WOMEN". UAE Tour Women. 11 February 2024. Retrieved 2023-02-13.