With the inaugural edition of the UAE Tour Liv Racing TeqFind starts its 2023 season. The race contains four stages, including a mountain finish on the Jebel Hafeet.
A part of the women`s peloton heads to the Middle East for the first edition of the UAE Tour. The stage race starts in Port Rashid and brings the peloton to Dubai Harbour. On the second day the peloton heads to Al Mirfa. In both stages there possibly will be crosswinds, so echelons can be decisive in this stages. The third stage will be an important test for the GC contenders and climbers as the stage finishes on the Jebel Hafeet (9 km, 7% average). The fourth and final day will be one for the fast women again.
Liv Racing TeqFind brings Eva Buurman, Thalita de Jong, Valerie Demey, Marta Jaskulska, Tereza Neumanova and Silke Smulders to the start line in the Middle East for the first race of the season. After a period of training and two team camps the riders can`t wait to start the season. “I have had a good winter. I did some good training in and around Calpe. Also there were two team camps this winter. I felt good during the winter training and feel ready to get the season started. I am really looking forward to race again”, Smulders told.
“The first race of the season will be really hectic. Everybody – including us – wants to start the season on the right foot. It is my first time in the Middle East, so that is already a nice experience. When you look at the men`s races you see a lot of echelon action. I think that will also be the case in the first two stages. I want to try my best in the third stage with the uphill finish. I am anxious to see how far I can get there”, Smulders continued her preview on the race.
“It will be important to race together as a team and be alert to get in the first echelon. We have more experience together now and I really think we can get advantage out of it. If we are in the front we can respond to attacks in the finale or help to position Tereza for a possible sprint finish. I am really looking forward to get started. After the UAE Tour I will head home for some training and recons of some classics. After that I will ride the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, followed by the Ronde van Drenthe, Gent-Wevelgem and the Ronde van Vlaanderen.”
Stages
09/02, stage 1: Port Rashid – Dubai Harbour (109 km)
10/02, stage 2: Al Dhafra Castle – Al Mirfa (133 km)
11/02, stage 3: Hazza bin Zayed Stadium – Jebel Hafeet (107 km)
12/02, stage 4: Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy – Abu Dhabi Breakwater (119 km)