Contador beats Nibali and Hesjedal in a desert sprint
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Racers at a Tour Dubai press con(Image credit: AP/La Presse)
The Dubai Tour jersey was on show at the presentation(Image credit: AP/La Presse)
The logo for the Tour of Dubai which will be run in 2014(Image credit: AP/La Presse)
Alberto Contador in Dubai(Image credit: AP/La Presse)
Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum during the announcement ceremony of Dubai Tour 1014 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates(Image credit: AP/La Presse)
compete on Oct. 23(Image credit: AP/La Presse)
Rashid Al Awali, marketing director of Dubai Sports Council during the announcement ceremony of Dubai Tour (Image credit: AP/La Presse)
Sheikh Mansour bi Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum with Dubai Jersi during the announcement ceremony of Dubai Tour(Image credit: AP/La Presse)
Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum during the announcement ceremony of Dubai Tour 1014 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates(Image credit: AP/La Presse)
Ryder Hesjedal, Alberto Contador and Vincenzo Nibali faced off in a race(Image credit: AP/La Presse)
Vittorio Brumotti performs with his bike during the announcement ceremony of Dubai Tour 2014(Image credit: AP/La Presse)
Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum visits the Cycling Museum during the announcement ceremony of the Dubai Tour(Image credit: AP/La Presse)
Vincenzo Nibali, Alberto Contador and Ryder Hesjedal in Dubai(Image credit: AP/La Presse)
Vincenzo Nibali, Alberto Contador and Ryder Hesjedal in Dubai(Image credit: AP/La Presse)
Vincenzo Nibali, Alberto Contador and Ryder Hesjedal in Dubai(Image credit: AP/La Presse)
Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, left, delivers an award to Alberto Contador(Image credit: AP/La Presse)
Mattar al Tayer, Deputy Chairman of the Sports Council, Tony Martin, Ryder Hesjedal, Sheikh Mansour bi Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Alberto Contador and Vincenzo Nibali during the announcment ceremony of Dubai Tour(Image credit: AP/La Presse)
As soon as things slowed down riders would take advantage.\(Image credit: AP/La Presse)
Alberto Contador was in Dubai for the presentation of the new 2014 race(Image credit: AP/La Presse)
The Dubai Sports Council has announced that the gulf Emirate will host a stage race in the spring of 2014 as part of a long-term plan to help develop cycling in the United Arab Emirates.
Dubai has watched its neighbours Qatar and Oman develop their own races in recent years and now want their own "bigger and better" event. The final date and the length of the race have still to be decided.
"Dubai always does things in the best manner possible and I assure you that the Dubai Tour will be a force. It will be something greater than what's been seen anywhere else in the world," Rashid Al Awadhi, the head of marketing at the Dubai Sports Council told Cyclingnews and other media at the evening event.
"This is to show that we're serious about cycling. Our objective is to create champions here in the UAE and we'd like to create the next Alberto Contador, Ryder Hesjedal or Vincenzo Nibali out of the UAE. That's our long term goal. We've got to create the environment for that to happen, so the races are important, academies and creating the want from children to get into cycling."
The Dubai Tour was announced and a Versace-designed blue and yellow race jersey was unveiled during the official opening of the Dubai Cycling Course - a 68km bike circuit and facility in the desert so local riders and tourists can ride safely in Dubai. Giro d'Italia organiser RCS Sport helped organise the event and is expected to work on the organisation of the Dubai Tour.
Alberto Contador, Ryder Hesjedal, Vincenzo Nibali and Tony Martin all attended the event after spending New Year in Dubai. Martin competed against a race horse at the opening of the Dubai Cycling Course but was well beaten in the one-kilometre race. Contador, Hesjedal and Nibali also raced over a kilometre, with Contador securing his first "win" of the 2013 season.
"It was only one kilometre but hard and fast for the first week of January. It feels good to win but I think the more important thing is that cycling has come alive in Dubai," Contador said, hinting he would be at the start of the Dubai Tour in 2014.
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"I think it'll be a beautiful race. They could include a team time trial, an individual time trial and of course for the sprinters there are lots of roads. I don't know about the mountain, maybe next year they will have built a one-kilometre mountain. If it's in the first part of the year it could be good for training for the rest of the season."
Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
