All stages in the 2018 Dubai Tour start at Skydive Dubai. The departure place in the last edition was the Dubai International Marine Club. It hardly makes a difference as the places are just a stone’s throw away.
The 1st stage zigzags within city limits before the riders venture out into the desert. Once back in Dubai the finish lies on Palm Jumeirah, the artificial archipelago that extends into the Persian Gulf. In 2017, Marcel Kittel outpowered Dylan Groenwegen and Mark Cavendish on this arrival.
The Dubai Tour’s 2nd stage is a sort of Tour of the United Arab Emirates. Following the start in Dubai the peloton moves through the emirates Sharjah, Ajman and Umm al Qaiwain to finish in Ras al Khaimah. The flat route travels chiefly along the Persian Gulf.
Stage 3 in the Dubai Tour is a 183 kilometres race across the Arabian Peninsula. The route climbs to almost 500 metres, still we should expect a fast finisher’s showdown in the streets of Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman.
The 4th stage travels to the Hatta Dam and is rather hilly in the last 60 kilometres – that is, by Dubai concepts. This leg sees the only summit finish of the Dubai Tour as the arrival lies at the end of a 1 kilometre climb with steepest stretches of 17% just before the top.
The final stage of the 2018 Dubai Tour is is flat endeavour within the perimeters of Dubai City. So expect the sprinters to detonate the fireworks one last time.
A battle for time bonuses is highly likely in the Dubai Tour. All stages come with 10, 6 and 4 seconds on the line, while the intermediate sprints bring bonuses of 3, 2 and 1 seconds.
Dubai Tour 2018: Route maps, height profiles, and more
Click on the images to zoom