The 2017 Dubai Tour was a
road cycling
Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes Recreational cycling, recreational, Road bicycle racing, racing, Bicycle commuting, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, ...
stage race
A race stage, leg, or heat is a unit of a race that has been divided in several parts for the reason such as length of the distance to be covered, as in a multi-day event. Usually, such a race consists of "ordinary" stages, but sometimes stages ...
that took place in
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
between 31 January and 4 February 2017. It was the fourth edition of the
Dubai Tour
The Dubai Tour is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Dubai, which began in 2014 as part of the UCI Asia Tour.
History
The race was classified as a 2.1. in 2014. The race is organized by the Dubai Sports Council in partn ...
and was rated as a
2.HC The UCI 1.HC and UCI 2.HC are the second tier classification of road cycling races by the UCI, after the UCI World Tour (or its predecessor, the UCI ProTour). The races are part of the various UCI Continental Circuits. The 1.HC events are one-day ...
event as part of the
2017 UCI Asia Tour.
The race was won for the second consecutive year by Germany's
Marcel Kittel
Marcel Kittel (born 11 May 1988) is a German former racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2011 and 2019 for the , and squads. As a junior, he specialised in time trials, even winning a bronze medal in the World Championships for cycl ...
for the team.
Kittel won three of the four stages to be run – comfortably winning the points classification as a result – while in the other stage, Kittel was involved in a skirmish with
Andriy Hrivko
Andriy Askoldovich Hrivko ( uk, Андрій Аскольдович Грівко, also transliterated Hryvko or Grivko, born 7 August 1983) is a Ukrainian former racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2005 and 2018. Since retiring fro ...
, which resulted in the rider being ejected from the race. Kittel won the overall classification by 18 seconds ahead of 's
Dylan Groenewegen
Dylan Groenewegen (born 21 June 1993) is a Dutch professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He has won five individual Tour de France stages and one team time trial stage. He has also won the Dutch National Road R ...
from the Netherlands, who won the young rider classification in doing so. The final podium was completed by Kittel's compatriot
John Degenkolb
John Degenkolb (born 7 January 1989) is a German professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . His biggest wins to date are the 2015 Milan–San Remo and the 2015 Paris–Roubaix, two of cycling's five monuments. He is ...
,
a further two seconds in arrears, with the rider winning the stage not won by Kittel. In the other race classifications, Italian rider
Nicola Boem
Nicola Boem (born 27 September 1989) is an Italian former bicycle racing, racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2013 and 2017, all for the team.
He competed in the Giro d'Italia five times, winning Stage 10 of the 2015 Giro d'Ital ...
() won the intermediate sprints classification, while the squad won the teams classification.
Teams
As the Dubai Tour was a 2.HC event, a limited number of
UCI WorldTeam
A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road cycling, the UCI World Tour or UCI ProTour
...
s were able to participate in the race. In total, 16 teams participated in the race: 10
UCI WorldTeam
A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road cycling, the UCI World Tour or UCI ProTour
...
s, 4
Professional Continental teams,
Continental
Continental may refer to:
Places
* Continent, the major landmasses of Earth
* Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US
* Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US
Arts and entertainment
* ''Continental'' ( ...
team , and a national selection from the United Arab Emirates.
Route
For the 2017 Dubai Tour, the race was extended from four stages to five stages. The full itinerary was released on 13 December 2016.
The fourth stage, initially scheduled to be run over and to start in
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
was initially shortened due to strong winds and sandstorms. The new stage was long and due to start in
Hatta, whilst still finishing at the Hatta Dam.
The stage was later cancelled altogether due to the winds.
Stages
Stage 1
;31 January 2017 —
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
to
Palm Jumeirah
The Palm Jumeirah is an archipelago of artificial islands on the Persian Gulf in Jumeirah, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is part of a larger series of developments called the Palm Islands, including Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira, which, if co ...
,
Stage 2
;1 February 2017 — Dubai to
Ras al-Khaimah
Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْخَيْمَة, historically Julfar) is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It is the sixth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain ...
,
Stage 3
;2 February 2017 — Dubai to
Al Aqah,
Stage 4
;3 February 2017 —
Hatta to Hatta Dam,
The stage was cancelled altogether due to strong winds.
Stage 5
;4 February 2017 — Dubai to
City Walk,
Classification leadership table
In the 2017 Dubai Tour, four different jerseys were awarded. For the
general classification
The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulat ...
, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, and allowing time bonuses for the first three finishers at intermediate sprints and at the finish of mass-start stages, the leader received a blue jersey. This classification was considered the most important of the 2017 Dubai Tour, and the winner of the classification was considered the winner of the race.
Additionally, there was a
points classification
The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning sprints at certain places along the route, most often called ''intermediate sprints''. The points cl ...
, which awarded a red jersey. In the points classification, cyclists received points for finishing in the top 10 in a stage. For winning a stage, a rider earned 25 points, with 16 for second, 11 for third, 8 for fourth, 6 for fifth with a point fewer per place down to a single point for 10th place. Points towards the classification could also be accrued at intermediate sprint points during each stage; these intermediate sprints also offered bonus seconds towards the general classification. There was also a sprints classification for the points awarded at the aforementioned intermediate sprints, where the leadership of which was marked by a jersey in the colours of the United Arab Emirates flag.
The fourth jersey represented the young rider classification, marked by a white jersey. This was decided in the same way as the general classification, but only riders born after 1 January 1992 were eligible to be ranked in the classification. There was also a classification for teams, in which the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added together; the leading team at the end of the race was the team with the lowest total time.
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dubai Tour, 2017
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
2017 in Emirati sport
2017 UCI Asia Tour
January 2017 sports events in Asia
February 2017 sports events in Asia