Stage 1

The start and finish location are only one kilometre apart, yet the 1st stage of the 2017 Dubai Tour takes in 181 kilometres of racing. A loop through the dessert accounts for a flat and dusty route, so we are talking vintage Dubai Tour here.

As always in the Dubai Tour, the riders start at the luxurious Dubai International Marine Club. Soon they leava to city to enter the desert for a large loop. Once back within city limits the finale takes in some twisting and turning – that is, by Dubai concepts. Chances are the race will boil down to a bunch sprint. The opening stage of the 2016 Dubai Tour was won by Marcel Kittel.

In all editions the Dubai Tour featured a stage to Palm Jumeirah and it always ended with a fast men’s showdown. In successive order, Marcel Kittel (2014) and Elia Viviani (2015 and 2016) took the honors.

The first three riders one the line take time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the intermediate sprints (after 77.3, 105.6 and 129.2 kilometres) in the 2017 Dubai Tour come with 3, 2 and 1 seconds.

The stage starts at 11:10 and the finish is expected around 15:20, both local times.