UAE set to welcome world's best female cyclists for inaugural Dubai Women's Tour

UAE cyclist Safia Al Sayegh, left, Secretary General of Dubai Sports Council Saeed Mohammed Hareb, right, and members of the Dubai Police amateur cycling team at the press conference for the Dubai Women's Tour. Courtesy Dubai Women's TourShow less

Riders from 16 international teams representing 13 different countries will compete at the inaugural Dubai Women's Tour later this month.

The four-stage race, taking place February 17-20, will total 407 kilometres with the 99km Stage 1 starting at Dubai Festival City and finishing at Town Square Dubai.

Stage 2 will also start from Dubai Festival City and conclude 106km later at The Springs, while the 90km third stage will be one of the climbers as the peloton makes its way from Wadi Hatta Park to Hatta Dam.

The fourth and final stage, raced over 112km, will start and finish at Dubai Festival City as the riders take a looping course around the Dubai Creek and through the traditional downtown area of the city.

Top European teams will be competing at the Dubai Women's Tour, including Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport, Andy Schleck Cycles-Immo Losch and UCI Women’s Continental team Ciclotel.

Representing the host nation will be the UAE Women’s Team, while the Kuwait Cycling Team provides additional interest from the Middle East.

“The calibre of athlete, and the teams that have registered to compete are of the highest level in the sport and we expect some fierce, quality racing over the four-day event,” Noura Al Jasmi, Dubai Women’s Tour Director and UAE Cycling Board Member, said.

“Our Federation is extremely committed to making this become one of the must-participate and must-watch races on the UCI and Dubai-sporting calendars, and we anticipate this tour will inspire the next generation of young Emirati girls to follow in the footsteps of our current women’s national team and the possibility of representing their country on the world stage.”

There will be four different classifications in the race, all with their own colour jersey: the General Classification leader will wear the red jersey, the leading climber will wear pink, the green jersey is awarded to the leading sprinter, and the best young rider will adorn the white jersey.

UAE cyclist Safia Al Sayegh will be aiming to shine at the inaugural race in her home country, and hopes bringing a professional tour to Dubai can help inspire more Emirati girls to take up cycling.

“It’s very exciting to me for an event like this to be coming and be hosted in the UAE, especially in my home city Dubai, for the very first time,” she said.

“All my teammates are looking forward with passion for the tour, and we can't wait for it to kick-off. We hope we can race hard and safely to inspire more girls, especially Emiratis to join this sport.”