Olympic gold medallist and Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins will be the headline act in the third running of the Dubai Tour, which will feature an opening stage stopping in Fujairah for the first time.
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Wiggins, 35, will be making his competitive debut in the Emirates while riding for his own Team Wiggins. Next year’s edition will run from February 3-6 and feature 16 outfits, with the 671km-combined distance for the four stages making it the longest in the event’s history.
“I’m really excited to be racing with my team at the 2016 Dubai Tour,” a statement from Wiggins read at Sunday’s packed press conference at Jumeirah Mina A’Salam to unveil the 2016 route and jerseys.
“It’s an exciting event and we’re looking forward to competing with some of the best teams in the world.”
Organisers have also revealed the four-day race is set to see 2014 winner Taylor Phinney and 2015 winner Mark Cavendish competing once again for glory.
Here is the 2016 Dubai Tour official route, covering 671km. https://t.co/U5CGLjESDR
— Dubai Tour (@dubaitour) December 13, 2015
The pair could be part of a star-studded peloton, with Lorenzo Giorgetti of co-organisers RCS Sports and Events JLT CEO stating invitations have been sent out to a series of elite sprinters including reigning UCI Road World Championships winner Peter Sagan.
He said: “Officially, we know all the top sprinters are willing to come here. Sagan, (Fabian) Cancellara, many, many of them are willing to come. We cannot say officially. Let us say we have invited them and we have good relationships with their teams. The riders like Dubai and enjoy how we treat them like special guests in terms of accommodation and services. They are very happy with this race.”
The 2016 edition is set to open with a 179km, coast-to-coast stage which starts in Dubai Marine International Club (DIMC) and ends in Fujairah. The route will pass through Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khamiah and Fujairah, taking in the long straights of Silicon Oasis and the mild sequence of hills provided by the Hajar Mountains.
Three British teams lining up for @dubaitour in Feb. @TeamSky @ONEProCycling @OfficialWIGGINS
— Anthony McCrossan (@antmccrossan) December 13, 2015
The 188km-Nakheel Stage will take place between DIMC and the famous Palm Jumeirah, while the testing 172km The Westin Stage finishes up with the gruelling climb provided by the Hatta Dam.
The final 132km Burj Stage showcases several of Dubai’s most famous landmarks, starting in the direction of the Meydan Racecourse and ending with a sprint to the iconic Burj Khalifa – the world’s tallest building.
Dubai Sports Council general secretary H.E. Saeed Harab praised the Tour’s role in promoting the city across the globe. He said: “We are not interested in one-off events but in regular annual appointments and the Dubai Tour is part of this vision. Thanks to the riders, we’re going to show our beautiful territory to the world again.”
As before, the blue jersey will denote the general classification winner and red will be awarded to the fastest sprinter who tops the points classification.
The UAE flag jersey will be presented to the riders who gain the most intermediate sprint points and the white jersey will go to the best young rider.
