13 WorldTeams named for first women’s UAE Tour
Just Jumbo-Visma and EF Education-TIBCO-SVB missing from start list of four-day race.
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A total of 13 Women’s WorldTour teams are set to compete at the inaugural women’s UAE Tour next month.
Just Jumbo-Visma and EF Education-TIBCO-SVB are missing off the start list for the four-day race in the Middle East, with FDJ-Suez, Movistar, Trek-Segafredo, SD Worx, and home squad UAE Team ADQ among the top-level teams due to ride.
Seven women’s Continental teams will also make the journey to the UAE this February. BePink, Ceratizit-WNT, Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi, St Michel-Mavic-Auber93, Coop-Hitech Products, Top Girls Fassa Bortolo, and Zaaf Cycling are all on the start list.
Also read: Jebel Hafeet to decide inaugural women’s UAE Tour
This is the first time that the women’s UAE Tour is being held and sees the women’s peloton head to the Middle East for the first time since the Tour of Qatar folded in 2016. It is the third event on the Women’s WorldTour calendar after the Tour Down Under and the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.
The four-day race will be a good opportunity for the sprinters in the peloton to get a win or two on their 2023 palmarès, with three stages set to end in a bunch finish.
Jebel Hafeet on stage 3 is likely to be the only day that will not end in a big dash for the line and should decide the overall winner of the race. The 10km climb averages nine percent and hits a peak of 11 percent.
With few opportunities for the climbers in the opening months of the season, the Jebel Hafeet finale is likely to attract some star names to the UAE Tour.