UAE Tour 2020
The UAE Tour is a cycling race in stages that began to be played last season, in 2019, but that from the beginning was integrated into the UCI World Tour calendar, which is the top category of professional road cycling.
The second edition of the UAE Tour will take place between February 23 and 29, 2020. The race will have a total of 7 stages, where there will be flat and mountain stages.
This race emerged last year from the fusion of the Abu Dhabi Tour and the Dubai Tour. The Dubai Tour was a race for sprinters, totally flat, while the Abu Dhabi Tour had some mountainous difficulty in its stages.
What happened the last season?
The first edition of the UAE Tour was dominated from beginning to end by Primoz Roglic. The first stage was a team time trial won by the Jumbo-Visma in which Roglic was riding. He crossed the finish line the first and put on the Red jersey, which he would wear until the last day of the race.
Meanwhile, sprinters Fernando Gaviria, Caleb Ewan, Elia Viviani, and Sam Bennett achieved stage victories where there was a final sprint at the finish line.
Roglic had a tight fight with Alejandro Valverde. The Spaniard won the stage victory in Jebel Hafeet, but in the stage that could decide the general classification, he failed to leave Roglic behind, and the Slovenian won the stage.
As we have said, Primoz Roglic finished the race first, leaving Alejandro Valverde in second place and David Gaudu in third place.
Stages of UAE Tour 2020
23rd February: Stage 1 - From Zabeel Park to Al Marjan Island: 158 km flat for sprinters.
24th February: Stage 2 - From Dubai - Palm Jumeirah to Hatta Dam: 203 km with hills.
25th February: Stage 3 - From Sharjah to Rafisa Dam: 198 km with hills.
26th February: Stage 4 - From Dubai Design District to Dubai City Walk: 171 km for sprinters.
27th February: Stage 5 - From Al Ain to Jebel Hafeet: 162 km with the finish line at the top of the mountain. The decisive stage for the Final Standings.
28th February: Stage 6 - From Al Ruwais to Al Mirfa: 158 km flat for sprinters.
29th February: Stage 7 - From Al Maryah Island to Abu Dhabi: 127 km flat for sprinters.
It was announced on 27 February after the conclusion of Stage 5 that the remaining two stages would be cancelled due to coronavirus fears.
Top Competitors
Among the favorites, we find the UAE - Team Emirates that will ride at home and will count in their startlist Tadej Pogacar and Davide Formolo for the general classification, and Fernando Gaviria for the flat stages with sprints.
On the other hand, we can not forget Alejandro Valverde, the Spanish will try to improve his second place last year.
Other cyclists such as David Gaudu, Adam Yates or Rafal Majka will make the race for favorites difficult.
In the sprint stages, Caleb Ewan and Sam Bennett will be back in the 2020 edition and will be a good competition to Fernando Gaviria.
The expected return of Chris Froome will be in this race, after his fall in the Dauphiné 2019. He will return after 7 months without competing, but he is always a favorite.