Test of endurance as Abu Dhabi Tour takes centrestage from today
abu dhabi — The fourth edition of the Abu Dhabi Tour is packed with an additional stage of time trial and the action starts on Wednesday. The only World Tour race in the Middle East will see riders cover 687.6-kms over the next five days.
The Tour will start with Stage 1 in Madinat Zayed (189km) on Wednesday, then move to Yas Island (154km) on Thursday, round the city in 133-km Nation Towers stage on Friday, make riders sprint in the 12.6km individual time trials around Al Maryah Island on Saturday and end with a summit climb at Jebel Hafeet on Sunday.
UAE Team Emirates rider Rui Costa, who won the 2017 Jebel Hafeet stage and the Tour General Classification, felt the additional stage has made things more challenging.
“The new route with a time trial changes the tactic but Jabel Hafeet remains a hard climb, it’s 25 minutes of climbing. It’s not easy to be the defending champion and, racing on home soil we have many motivated riders like Fabio Aru, Alexander Kristoff and Diego Ulissi,” the defending champion said during a Press conference in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
However, one person who is relishing the fourth stage of time trial is Team Sunweb’s Tom Dumoulin. The Giro d’Italia champion tops individual time trial and world team time trial championships. And with his climbing skills, the Dutchman rides into the Tour as a favourite for the General Classification.
“I just saw my time trial world champion jersey. It’s amazing, so I’m looking forward to wearing it. The Abu Dhabi Tour has a perfect course for me with the time trial and the uphill finish. We came here with a good team, including Wilco Kelderman riding for general classification,” he said.
Meanwhile, Team Dimension Data’s Mark Cavendish is upbeat about the Tour despite few setbacks.“My legs were all right again in Oman after my stage victory in Dubai. It makes it a long time racing in the Middle East, but it’s an honor to come back to Abu Dhabi. We have a GC team here, I’ll be missing my lead out guys who are injured or sick, but I want to be successful,” Cavendish, who has won three stages and two consecutive Green Jerseys at the Abu Dhabi Tour, said.
The Tour is extra special for BMC Racing Team’s Rohan Dennis. The Australian recently got married and is eager to leave a mark on the Tour. He too is a time-trial specialist but downplayed the advantage. “I recently got married, so this trip to Abu Dhabi is like a honeymoon. After my wedding in Australia, I spent one week in Girona, Spain. So I went from heat to cold and back to heat again.”