History beckons as Middle East’s first women cycling tour begins on Monday

History will be made in Dubai on Monday as the only Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) women’s cycling event in the Middle East, Dubai Women’s Tour will see 14 top international teams, including Team UAE, competing for honours across four stages.

Riders from 17 international women’s teams hailing from 14 different countries line up at the start of the inaugural Dubai Women’s Cycle Tour which will kick off on Monday.

Among them will be the team sure to get the most support during the four-day event, the UAE Women’s team. They have a tough task ahead, taking on some of the best riders in the world, with the likes of top European outfits Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport, Andy Schleck Cycles-Immo Losch and UCI Women’s Continental team Ciclotel also confirmed among the field.

UCI Women’s Continental team Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport is home to the current Belgian national champion while Canada’s Macogep Tornatech Girondins boasts an under-23 national road race and time trial champion in their line-up. Mexican outfit Agolico BMC, meanwhile, is home to last year’s Pan American Road Cycling Championship winner. And Italy’s Aromitalia–Basso Bikes–Vaiano even features a 2019 stage winner of the prestigious Giro Rosa – the women’s equivalent of the Giro d’Italia.

In addition there are several teams whose formation alone has provided a breakthrough in the promotion of women’s cycling across regions such as Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Noura Al Jasmi, Dubai Women’s Tour Director and UAE Cycling Board Member said: “The calibre of athlete, and the teams that have registered to compete are of the highest level in the sport and we expect some fierce, quality racing over the four-day event.” “Our Federation, under the leadership of president Osama Al Shafar, is extremely committed to making this become one of the must-participate and must-watch races on the UCI and Dubai-sporting calendars, and we anticipate this tour will inspire the next generation of young Emirati girls to follow in the footsteps of our current women’s national team and the possibility of representing their country on the world stage.”    

Expressing her excitement over the Inaugural Tour being raced on home-soil, UAE cyclist, Safia Al Sayegh said: “It’s very exciting to me for an event like this to be coming and be hosted in the UAE, especially in my home city Dubai, for the very first time.”

“All my teammates are looking forward with passion for the tour, and we can’t wait for it to kick-off. We hope we can race hard and safely to inspire more girls, especially Emiratis to join this sport.”