The 2018 Dubai Tour is again expected to produce some hotly contested sprint finishes, with Marcel Kittel, Mark Cavendish, Elia Viviani, Alexander Kristoff, Dylan Groenewegen, Nacer Bouhanni, and Jakub Mareczko all expected in the Middle East for the five-stage race between February 6-10.
The Dubai Sports Council and RCS Sport have invited 16 teams to the race, including nine WorldTour teams, five Professional Continental teams, the Mitchelton-BikeExchange Continental team, and a UAE national team.
Astana, Bahrain-Merida, BMC Racing, Quick-Step Floors, Dimension Data, Katusha-Alpecin, LottoNL-Jumbo, Trek-Segafredo and UAE Team Emirates will line-up, with Aqua Blue Sport, Cofidis, Rally Cycling, Team Novo Nordisk and Wilier-Selle Italia completing the 112-rider peloton.
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RCS Sport hinted that other big-name riders would also race in Dubai, with Giacomo Nizzolo and John Degenkolb of Trek-Segafredo and Sonny Colbrelli of Bahrain-Merida expected to be there.
Kittel won the overall classification of the Dubai Tour in 2017 after a sand storm forced organisers to cancel the key stage up to the edge of Hatta Dam. The German won three sprints and was the centre of attention on another after being punched by Astana’s Andriy Grivko as riders fought for position in the echelons on stage 3. Grivko was kicked out of the race for his actions.
This year's race follows a similar route, with the finish at Hatta Dam and the daily time bonuses likely to prove crucial in deciding the overall winner.
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