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The UAE Tour Women will be held from February 9-12 and offers three sprint opportunities on stages 1, 2 and 4, while the organisers offer one GC-deciding summit finish on stage 3 at the top of Jebel Hafeet.
Stage 1
The only stage held in Dubai, stage 1 offers the peloton an opening 109km race from Port Rashid to Dubai Harbour.
En route to the finish line, the fastest women in the field have an opportunity to contest two intermediate sprints at the 55km mark at the Meydan Racecourse and another at the 87.9km at the Dubai Sports City.
The peloton will then charge into the run-in for what is expected to be a bunch sprint at the Dubai Harbour, where the stage win and first leader’s jersey are up for grabs.
Stage 2
The peloton will then venture into Abu Dhabi, for the second day of racing, also for the sprinters on stage 2’s 133km race from Al Dhafra Castle to Al Mirfa.
The race profile is pan-flat and offers another two intermediate sprints at 34.1km in Madinat Zayed and a second sprint at 87.2km at Habshan Camp before a slightly downhill sprint into Al Mirfa.
Stage 3
The most decisive day of the event, and one for the climbers, stage 3’s 107km route begins in Hazza bin Zayed Stadium and ends atop Jebel Hafeet, a 10km ascent with an average gradient of 9%.
The race begins at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, and the route is almost flat for the first 80km. There are two intermediate sprints at 29.9km at the UAE University and another at 93.3km at the Green Mubazzarah.
The route then turns uphill and onto the Jabbe Hafeet Road, where the peloton faces the only accent of the four-day race. The GC-deciding climb is 10km, and while the average gradient is 9%, it has sections as steep as 11% on the way to the finish line.
Stage 4
The race will conclude with a 119km route from Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy to Abu Dhabi Breakwater.
It will mark the third and final opportunity for the sprinters offering two intermediate sprints at 47.9km at Al Sader and another sprint at 77.8km at the Yas Marina Circuit.
The race then finishes with a 40km flat run-in to the Abu Dhabi Breakwater, where the overall champion of the UAE Tour Women will be crowned.
