After a hard season of racing it is difficult to predict who will emerge on the decisive climb to Jebel Hafeet on stage 3 of the Abu Dhabi Tour and so fight for overall victory.
Some riders are fatigued and unfit after injury or a long season of racing. Many riders can't wait to end their season and finally head off on vacation. Nobody in the Abu Dhabi peloton seems to know who will be the strongest on the 10km climb and so take the red leader's jersey.
Nicolas Roche has fought back from severe bacterial pneumonia contracted during the Rio Olympics to ensure his season did not end early. He is Team Sky's overall hope and has promised to give it ago despite not knowing the state of his form and climbing ability.
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"For sure I'll commit but so will some others. It's about knowing and understanding how much my commitment is compared to the others. I'm going into the stage without feeling any pressure, knowing I'm just going to go for it," he told Cyclingnews.
"The last time I did a serious climb like Jebel Hafeet was a month ago in Il Lombardia. It's been a long time. I've been in the desert at the World Championships since then, doing the team time trial with Team Sky, the individual time trial and the road race with Ireland. I've only been training around those races before going to Dubai and then coming to Abu Dhabi.
"I watched last year's stage live on television and I noticed it's a solid climb that needs a big 20-minute effort. It's not going to be easy."
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