Road cycling stage race in the United Arab Emirates
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.
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]
Primož Roglič (SLO)
Remco Evenepoel (BEL)
Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA)
