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STAGE SET FOR THE 2024 UAE TOUR
Read on for press conference quotes from Adam Yates, Mark Cavendish, Pello Bilbao, Dylan Groenewegen, Ben O’ Connor, Fabio Jakobsen, and Tim Merlier.
The race will be broadcast all over the world. The one and only UCI WorldTour race in the Middle East starts tomorrow with 141km of riding from Al Dhafra Walk to Liwa.
Start List and Roadbook are available to download below.
United Arab Emirates, 18 February 2024 – One day left until the start of the 6th edition of the UAE Tour, organised by Abu Dhabi Sports Council and taking place from 19 to 25 February. The one and only UCI WorldTour race in the Middle East will have a studded field competing once again.
The start list of the 2024 UAE Tour is full of riders who have already won this year. Besides Adam Yates (overall winner of the Tour of Oman), Mark Cavendish (stage winner at the Tour Colombia), Tim Merlier (stage winner at the AlUla Tour), Ben O’Connor (winner of the Vuelta a Murcia) and Dylan Groenewegen (winner of GP Valencia) who spoke at the pre-race press conference along with Pello Bilbao and Fabio Jakobsen who are yet to impose themselves this year (read their quotes below), other early season winners will try to capitalize on their form and confidence: GC contenders Brandon McNulty (Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana overall winner), Harold Tejada (stage winner at Tour Colombia) and Simon Carr (winner of the Trofeo Calvia), sprinters Sam Welsford (triple stage winner at the Tour Down Under), Fernando Gaviria (stage winner at Tour Colombia) and Olav Kooij (Clasica de Almeria winner), as well as other stage hunters Lennert Van Eetvelt (Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana winner) and Pelayo Sanchez (Trofeo Pollença winner).
The 2022 Elite World Champion for individual time trial Tobias Foss, the reigning u23 World Champion for individual time trial Lorenzo Milesi, the former Australian Champion Jay Vine, and the reigning Elite French Champion for individual time trial Rémi Cavagna will eye their first win of the season on stage 2 while top sprinters Elia Viviani, Kaden Groves, Sam Bennett, Phil Bauhaus, Pascal Ackermann, Jakub Mareczko and Arvid de Kleijn will make again the UAE Tour one of the most exciting races of the year as far as bunch sprints are concerned.
PRESS CONFERENCE
This afternoon, seven stars from the pro peloton spoke to the media in a press conference at Colnago Abu Dhabi.
Read on for press conference quotes from the riders.
Adam Yates
Adam Yates: “Obviously, it’s a super important race for our team. I always enjoy coming here. Last year we started with crosswinds and it was a big choc to the system, so this year I added the Tour of Oman to my program before the UAE Tour. I want to pull it off but the ITT makes it more difficult for me. If it was a technical course, it would be ok, but it’s pan flat. We also have Brandon [McNulty] here. He showed his good condition recently, so it should be a good week”.
Cavendish Mark
Mark Cavendish:“Any bike rider likes to have the confidence of the victory, whether it’s at the beginning of the year or later. To have the first win early is good for the team. It’s nice to be here in Abu Dhabi once again for the UAE Tour. I’m looking forward to get the race going. I’m always motivated. I love the sport. I love racing my bike. It’s a difficult sport and I’ll do it at least for another year so I’m happy”.
Pello Bilbao
Pello Bilbao:“My form is great. I like to start every season in a good way. In the past few years, I always chose this race because we have everything here: flat stages, ITT, nice mountain stages. My objective is to fight for the podium. The victory is gonna be expensive, especially with UAE Team Emirates having a very strong team here. I never had good feelings in Jebel Jais, I was always far from the victory, but Jebel Hafeet suits my style of racing more. The last day is the day for winning the overall”.
Dylan Groenewegen: “I got sick at a bad timing in the AlUla Tour but I’m feeling a lot better now. I have nice memories from here last year. Tomorrow is a good stage for sprinters and I have a strong team to help me”.
Ben O’ Connor:“It’s pretty clear that mountain stages are my kind of days, but almost every single day here is as important as mountain days to fight for GC. The win I got before coming here was a confidence booster. Both climbs of the UAE Tour are interesting for a good racing”.
Trofeo UAE Tour
Fabio Jakobsen: “To improve our speed that’s why we come here, to race together and try to win. Of course tomorrow is an opportunity for sprinters but depending on the wind. Stages 4, 5 and 6 look like sprints, there are lots of sprinters here, it’ll be a big fight”.
Tim Merlier
Tim Merlier:“I will try to get a victory here again. Last year I already had a good UAE Tour, but when you see the guys next to me, it’s clear that the competition is of a very high level. Echelons is something I like, it motivates myself a bit. Stage 1 will be a fight with the wind and the other riders”.
TV COVERAGE
The sixth edition of the UAE Tour – the One and Only UCI WorldTour Race in the Middle East – will be covered all over the world, via the broadcast schedules of 8 different TV networks.
The host broadcasters Abu Dhabi Sports and Dubai Sports will provide local cycling fans in the United Arab Emirates and in the whole MENA region with full live coverage of each stage, including the riders’ signature podium and the first pedal stroke from the start village to the finish line and related awards, with both Arabic and English commentary.
On the international landscape, Discovery+ and Eurosport will be broadcasting the race LIVE across all of Europe and Southeast Asia, showing the best action from the race with a final highlights package after the last stage.
J Sports will air the UAE Tour in Japan, DirecTV in Latin America and Zhibo TV in China.
THE OFFICIAL JERSEYS
The leader jerseys of the UAE Tour are provided by ALÉ
Red Jersey, leader of the General Classification, sponsored by International Holding Company
Green Jersey, leader of the Points Classification, sponsored by Italia.It
White Jersey, Best Young Rider, sponsored by Nakheel
Black Jersey, leader of the Intermediate Sprint Classification, sponsored by Bin Hamoodah Auto
To find out more about the UAE Tour, including details of the official race route, jerseys and sponsors, visit www.theuaetour.com
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