UAE Tour: Photo highlights from 2020

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Britain's Adam Yates won the 2020 UAE Tour after one of the more memorable climbing performances of the year, soaring to victory by over a minute on the first ascent of Jebel Hafeet to seal the third – and biggest – stage race victory of his career.

The Mitchelton-Scott rider beat future Tour de France winner and home team favourite, UAE Team Emirates' Tadej Pogačar, on the summit finish, and later survived a barrage of attacks from the young Slovenian on the second ascent of the climb to seal overall victory at the race.

Pogačar relentlessly attacked Yates on that final stage but was eventually forced to settle for a stage win, crossing the line just ahead of Yates and Astana's Alexey Lutsenko, who rounded out the final podium.

Away from the GC action, a top-quality sprint field divided up a trio of stage among themselves, with Pascal Ackermann and Dylan Groenewegen triumphing on a bunch spring apiece while Caleb Ewan proved himself the master of the charge up Hatta Dam for the second year in succession.

Such was the quality on show that sprinters Sam Bennett and Fernando Gaviria – who would later be hospitalised as COVID-19 struck a pro race for the first time – would have to be happy with a second place apiece. Second chances for victory on stages 6 and 7 would ultimately never materialise, with the race cut short due to the virus. It might just have been the most memorable edition yet – for what happened on and off the road.