A total of 140 riders will line up tomorrow for the opening stage of the seventh edition of the UAE Tour, organized by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council. The only UCI WorldTour race in the Middle East will once again be characterized by a star-studded field. Among the many big names at the start, the most anticipated is Tadej Pogačar. The world champion, UCI ranking leader and two-time UAE Tour winner (2021 and 2022) will make his seasonal debut, facing the defending champion Lennert Van Eetvelt, the emerging star of 2024 and winner on Jebel Hafeet. Other contenders for the general classification are Pello Bilbao, Carlos Rodríguez, Alexey Lutsenko, Giulio Ciccone and Einer Rubio

This afternoon, six pro group stars spoke with the media at a press conference at Colnago Abu Dhabi. Here are their words:

Tadej Pogacar: "It has always been my dream to be world champion. Finally, I have the rainbow jersey, it still seems unreal to pedal every day with it and to come here, to the country of origin of my team, with this jersey is fantastic. So far, I've started every single season with some doubts about my preparation: I hope my form is good enough to compete again at the highest levels. Fingers crossed that it will be like last year and previous years. The time trial is important at the UAE Tour but I don't think it will make a big difference, maybe a few seconds. It's not long, so I believe the bigger gaps can open up in the echelons caused by crosswinds".

Lennert Van Eetvelt: "It's a very nice feeling to come back and see my name on the trophy as defending champion. I have great memories of the Jebel Hafeet stage and the overall classification last year. It was fantastic and I'm happy to sit here next to Tadej Pogacar. We never want to start a race to finish second, but when he's here it's difficult to compete and, being realistic, it's a race for second place".

Tim Merlier: "It would be nice to make a hat-trick by winning the opening stage again. But the competition is very high with many high-level sprinters on the starting line. From my first race, it seems my legs are doing well and here I'll have opportunities to try to win a stage".

Jasper Philipsen: "The UAE Tour is really a good race to start because it lasts a week and there's a very competitive field of sprinters. This year in particular, it's nice to start here with good weather, just a week before the opening weekend in Belgium. There won't be many sprints before the first classics, so it's nice to test the sprint legs here".

Jonathan Milan: "The UAE Tour is an important and good race to start. The level of competitors is very high. I'll look for victory with the help of a strong team and I'm quite confident".

Pello Bilbao: "We all know the two classic climbs of the UAE Tour: they are single climbs at the end of a stage. It's a kind of test for all riders. This time, we know how complicated it will be to fight for victory, but we are here to face a beautiful challenge. The only way to beat Tadej would be to surprise him on a flat section, but even then we know it will be very difficult. Being short, the time trial can be important for the podium but not for the overall victory".

OFFICIAL JERSEYS

The UAE Tour leader jerseys are provided by ALÉ, proud partner of the leader jersey of ENIT and ITALIA.IT.

    Red Jersey, General Classification leader, sponsored by International Holding: IHC
    Green Jersey, Points Classification leader, sponsored by Mubadala
    White Jersey, Best Young Rider, sponsored by Nakheel
    Black Jersey, Intermediate Sprint Classification leader, sponsored by ALDAR

TV COVERAGE
The race will be broadcast live on Discovery+ and Eurosport in South Asia and Europe.

VELON
The Velon rider data tracking system is being used again in the UAE Tour. Cyclists will have a small unit under the saddle that sends real-time data on speed, power, and cadence to the live broadcast coverage. Data highlights are published on @veloncc and the race's social media channels after each stage.

Velon will also produce on-bike camera highlights during the race. The footage will be published on the same social media channels and on Velon's YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/veloncc.

To learn more about the UAE Tour, including official race route details, jerseys, and sponsors, visit www.theuaetour.com.