Abu Dhabi, 19 October 2016 – The official start list of the second edition of the Abu Dhabi Tour is revealed. It includes 18 teams, 11 of which are from the WorldTour, with a total number of 107 riders.

Among the starters are the Official Abu Dhabi Tour Ambassador, the Manxman Mark Cavendish, the Giro d’Italia winner Vincenzo Nibali (Italy), the seven-time overall Grand Tour winner Alberto Contador (Spain), the duo of puncheurs John Degenkolb (Germany) and Michael Matthews (Australia), the sprinter André Greipel (Germany), two gold medalists from Rio 2016, the Italian Elia Viviani (Omnium) and the Belgian Greg Van Avermaet (Individual Road Race), the Costa Rican rider Andrey Amador and the local hero Yousif Mirza, the highest profile rider in the UAE.

TOMORROW’S STAGE AND TIMINGS
Stage 1 – ADNOC Stage (147km)
From Madinat Zayed to Madinat Zayed
Sign-on procedures: 11.30am-12.55pm
Line up (transfer 7km): 1.00pm
Start: 1.15pm
Finish: Approx. 5.00pm
Race Headquarters: Al Dhafra Stadium, Madinat Zayed, UAE

ROUTE
The first stage runs entirely into the desert, with the first and last parts of about 45km on straight, wide roads. Once in Liwa for the first Intermediate Sprint, riders will find a short circuit characterised by constant undulations over dunes, adding up to a significant total elevation. After a second Intermediate Sprint passage in Liwa, the second part of the stage takes the riders to Madinat Zayed, where the stage will finish.

Last km
A city path with only three proper bends, one to the right and two to the left (the final bend being to the left). The last kms are on wide, straight boulevards, punctuated by wide-curved roundabouts. The final km is straight on asphalt.

The Abu Dhabi Tour, organised by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council with the collaboration of RCS Sport, will take place from 20 to 23 October.

Abu Dhabi Tour Media Kit
From the official online pressroom the media can download high resolution pictures of the 2016 race, the various press conferences, the opening ceremony and the UCI Cycling Gala. In order to download the pictures, just go to http://pressroom.rcssport.it/ (username: press / password: press), select “Scarica contenuti/Download contents” on the top right, choose “2016” from the menu on the left, then “Ciclismo”, and then “Abu Dhabi Tour”. The photos are free of charge for editorial use, as long as both the Abu Dhabi Tour and the photographer’s name is quoted.

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SHIFT Active Media
Manolo Bertocchi

RCS Sport Cycling Press Office
Ph.: (+44) 1225 448333
Ph. (+44) 7979 241227
E-mail: manolo@shiftactivemedia.com
Tw.: @Shiftactive @ItalianManolo