Tour de France champion Vincenzo Nibali heads an all-star field as the Dubai Tour returns for its second running tomorrow.
Nibali, 30, heads back to the UAE as the sport’s premier rider after his dominant victory in its most glamorous – and gruelling – event last summer. The Dubai Tour will present a step up in class from its inaugural running.
With the event now upgraded from category 2.1 in the UCI Asia Tour calendar to category 2.HC and a partnership developing with the elite Giro d’Italia, 16 teams of eight riders will compete in four stages – which all begin at Dubai International Marine Club.
Nibali – who finished down the field in Dubai last year – is looking forward to beginning his quest to retain the hallowed yellow jersey when he makes his season debut this week.
“The Dubai Tour is important to me,” the Italian said. “The climate is good. In Europe, it is very, very cold. Here, it is a good temperature.
“I am very happy to be here in Dubai, it is a good start. The organisation is perfect, the same as the Giro. They have done good work here. The experience last year in Dubai was very good and this year will be even better. We have one good climb towards the finish in the third stage, with a few other little climbs as well.”
The most famous teams in cycling will be taking part, including Nibali’s Astana, elite sprinter Mark Cavendish’s Etixx-Quick Step, three-time stage winner Marcel Kittel’s Team Giant-Alpecin and former world champion Alejandro Valverde’s Movistar.
The total race distance has been increased from 418km to 663km, but with three flat stages Nibali expected the speedsters to shine in the bunch sprint finishes that will dominate the event.
“I think this race is perfect for sprinters, the finish with a climb is only about 600m,” Nibali said. “I don’t know how it will be for me, a rider for longer climbs.
“It is the first race in the season, so I do not know yet how I will feel. I have only one problem and that is I don’t have a sprint.”
American Taylor Phinney of BMC Racing Team claimed the general classification and the first-stage time trial in 2014, while sprinter Kittel took the honours in the other three stages. The time trial has been ditched this time by organisers Dubai Sports Council and RCS Sport.
The Dubai Tour sees Nibali take to the road competitively for the first time this term. He comes with a new standing in the sport after claiming a crushing seven minutes and 37 second triumph in the Tour de France in July. Victory there saw him become one of only two current riders to claim all three grand tours following his previous wins at the 2010 Vuelta Espana and 2013 Giro d’Italia.
“What I did last season was very important,” said Nibali.
“But now it is a new season and I have new goals. The first are the Classics in the Netherlands and Liege-Bastogne- Liege in Belgium. I will try to win the Tour de France again.
“I trained very hard in Spain, training every day. It is my job and I like this. I had a great camp.”
Cavendish failed to make much of an impact at last year’s event, but stressed on the eve of the 2015 Tour that he is taking it seriously as team Etixx-Quick Step looks to bed in their new set-up for the season.
“I’m looking forward to riding Dubai Tour for a second straight year,” Cavendish said.
“It’s well organised and an important early season race to prepare our leadout train. We’ll be going with Mark Renshaw and also Fabio Sabatini, who is a new part of our leadout. It will be the first time the three of us work together in a competition.
“I worked really well with Sabatini in the first race of the season [Tour de San Luis]. He fits in really well. I think he will be great to position Renshaw as the final leadout man, and to also keep the train smooth. We’ll be looking for wins at this race just as we did at Tour de San Luis.”
