The 2015 edition of the Dubai Tour was launched at a press conference in Savona, Italy, yesterday where organisers revealed plans to upgrade the UAE’s premier cycling event.
Organisers Italian company RCS Sport and Dubai Sports Council, have chosen to schedule the four-stage event from February 4-7, 2015, and must now wait for the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to ratify those dates during the World Championships this September.
They have also requested the UCI to upgrade the Dubai Tour from a 2.1 classification event to a 2.HC race, which would raise the number of participating UCI ProTeams, as well as keeping the race’s position as the season-opener for the Asia Tour.
The upgrade would also place the Dubai Tour on par with more prestigious races, such as the Tour of Britain.
“After the great success of the first edition, we’re very much looking forward to the 2015 Dubai Tour,” said Osama Al Shafar, vice president of the Dubai Tour Higher Committee and president of the UAE Cycling Federation.
“For the second edition we are seeking to improve the event and to make the route pass by the most prominent landmarks of Dubai. This will give you different and spectacular images to make it a unique event with unforgettable memories.”
The inaugural edition, which took place last February and was won by American BMC rider Taylor Phinney, attracted 16 teams, 11 of which were UCI ProTeams.
The Tour started with a time trial in Downtown Dubai, took the riders outside the city to Hatta, and inside the emirate via the Jumeirah beach before it ended at Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard near Burj Khalifa.
Organisers say they hope to add another stage to the Tour in the next edition, but it appears the race will remain a four-stage event for at least another year.
“In 2014 top level athletes raced in Dubai and we count on maintaining the same level of competition, even improving it if possible in 2015. I wish to thank the Dubai Sports Council for the excellent job they’ve done in partnership with us in organising this great international event,” said Mauro Vegni, the cycling director of RCS Sport, who also run the Giro d’Italia.
Meanwhile, Dubai’s hopes of hosting an opening stage of the 2016 Giro d’Italia were dashed when RCS Sport’s general manager Paolo Bellino said the Italian showpiece would definitely start in Europe.
Representatives from the Dubai Sports Council had expressed their interest in hosting the first stage of the Giro in the emirate in the future, but Bellino told Cycling Weekly that it was not an option.
“They say we are starting in Dubai? That’s not the information I have,” Bellino said. “We are already doing the Dubai Tour. It’s not an option to start there. Besides the time difference, it’s 40°C in May or June. It’s impossible.”
