A marquee line-up, featuring Sir Bradley Wiggins, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and Mark Cavendish, has been confirmed for next month’s Abu Dhabi Tour, organisers revealed on Tuesday.
They will be joined by Rio Olympic gold medallists Greg Van Avermaet and Elia Viviani at the October 20-23 event that is organised by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC) in collaboration with RCS Sport.
Belgian rider Van Avermaet triumphed in the road race last month in Brazil, Italian Viviani topped the podium in the omnium, while 2012 Tour de France champion Wiggins added a fifth Olympic gold to his tally, thanks to his heroics in the team pursuit. They will all be looking to end their 2016 campaigns on a high at the season-ending race.
Superstar sprinter Cavendish, who was forced to miss last year’s inaugural edition through injury, is thrilled he’ll be able to line up for the capital showpiece.
“I look forward to the upcoming Abu Dhabi Tour,” said the Manxman, who grabbed omnium silver and team pursuit gold in Rio.
“As official ambassador, of course, but also as a rider – this year my shoulders are fine and I definitively want to race, try to get a stage win and possibly wear a jersey.”
Reigning Giro d’Italia champion Nibali will make a return to Abu Dhabi while Contador will be making his debut in the event.
The full list of invited teams (see below) was revealed on Tuesday at a press conference at the St. Regis Hotel at
Nation Towers, where the jerseys and stage routes were unveiled.
“I am very happy to come back to Abu Dhabi after last year’s experience,” said Nibali. “I well remember the spectacle of the desert and the emotion of the final stage, with the Yas Marina F1 circuit looking spectacular under the lights.”
The Abu Dhabi Tour, upgraded from a 2.1 category last year to 2.HC this season, has been given elite WorldTour status for the 2017 edition and ADSC secretary general Aref Al Awani is confident next month’s race will be a success, having once again secured a strong field.
The World Championships, staged in Qatar, will conclude just three days before the start of the Abu Dhabi Tour – a scheduling blessing that has played into the
organisers’ hands.
“We are happy we have got them (the riders) in Abu Dhabi,” he said. “Last year we had big names and that’s why we had a successful tour.”
The race distance remains the same as last year at 555km, with the riders pedalling through three sprint stages and one with an uphill finish atop Jebel Hafeet. The fourth and final stage will once again take place at the iconic Yas Marina Circuit (click here for detailed stage guide).
Of the 18 teams invited to the Abu Dhabi Tour, 11 are UCI WorldTour teams. A surprise omission from the list of invitees are Skydive Dubai-Al Ahli Club – a UCI Continental outfit that is the very first to come out of the UAE.
In last year’s edition, several Skydive Dubai riders were in the breakaway of each stage and won intermediate sprints.
Organisers claim that they could only invite one UAE team, so they chose the recently-founded Nasr-Dubai instead. Last year, two outfits represented the host nation – Skydive Dubai and a team from the UAE Cycling Federation.
Here is the complete list of teams taking part in the 2016 Abu Dhabi Tour:
UCI WorldTour Teams
Astana Pro Team (KAZ)
BMC Racing Team (USA)
Lampre-Merida (ITA)
Lotto Soudal (BEL)
Movistar Team (ESP)
Orica-BikeExchange (AUS)
Team Dimension Data (RSA)
Team Giant-Alpecin (GER)
Team Sky (GBR)
Tinkoff (RUS)
Trek-Segafredo (USA)
UCI Professional Continental Teams
CCC Sprandi Polkowice (POL)
Gazprom-Rusvelo (RUS)
ONE Pro Cycling (GBR)
Wilier Triestina-SouthEast (ITA)
UCI Continental Teams
Nasr Dubai (UAE)
Minsk Cycling Club (BLR)
Team Wiggins (GBR)
*Each team at the start of the Abu Dhabi Tour will consist of six riders.
