New stage race in Dubai from 2014

[jens_attacks]

from today's gazzetta dello sport

dubai tour: 20-23 february 2014, organized by rcs sport

4 stages
one individual time trial
one team time trial
a stage for sprinters
a hilly stage

basically 3 races now in february in the middle east.

 

[pastronef]

from today's gazzetta dello sport

dubai tour: 20-23 february 2014, organized by rcs sport



basically 3 races now in february in the middle east.

3 races in row in february Qatar-Oman-Dubai? so hopefully Oman will not clash with Dubai

 

[Dazed and Confused]

from today's gazzetta dello sport

dubai tour: 20-23 february 2014, organized by rcs sport

4 stages
one individual time trial
one team time trial
a stage for sprinters
a hilly stage

basically 3 races now in february in the middle east.

well, can't hammer the 4 flat sprinter stages anymore. Is this a precursor to cycling champions league concept?

 

[janraaskalt]

Is this a precursor to cycling champions league concept?

I am afraid it is.
Two time trials in 4 days, WTF?!

 

[Parrulo]

also iirc they dont' bring time trial bikes to oman and qatar right?

 

[Dazed and Confused]

I am afraid it is.
Two time trials in 4 days, WTF?!

we are headed in the wrong direction rather quickly.

 

[Peccio89]

also iirc they dont' bring time trial bikes to oman and qatar right?

i'm sure the sheikhs won't mind paying for the transport.
By the way a 4 day race with 2 time trial is just horrible

 

[movingtarget]

Absolutely thrilling news. I was just as excited when I heard that Dubai are hosting the World Cup in the future. More and more of the traditional "real" bike races disappear or have their schedule and format changed completely and now we have another flat race through the desert. I suppose China will announce another new one soon. Well it is Dubai, they will probably build a mountain.

 

[Parrulo]

yup this is all pathetic.

the people managing this stuff is insane. cycling will die as soon as it leaves it's traditional countries. and if they want to branch out then use countries that actually care about cycling like Colombia.

 

[the asian]

Calm down guys. As far as I know it's only a 1.HC race and with Qatar and Oman having 1.HC races it's right that Dubai get there chance too.

Also since they are including a hilly stage which according to the article will be near the Border with Oman (Probably in the Al Ain area) and with RCS helping to organize, there would be a reasonable selection.

UAE does have the terrain to organize a reasonably exciting short stage race, and hopefully it will develop further.

 

[will10]

yup this is all pathetic.

the people managing this stuff is insane. cycling will die as soon as it leaves it's traditional countries. and if they want to branch out then use countries that actually care about cycling like Colombia.

Just like it killed F1?

Oh wait.

There was all sorts of moaning when Oman was set up but that turned out to be a decent race. There was also plenty of (justified) complaints about Beijing 2011. Maybe we should wait and see how many mountains the Sheikhs build first

 

[Eshnar]

Just like it killed F1?

Not very inherent to cycling

 

[the asian]

Races are disappearing or getting shortened in bankrupt Europe.
why not have a 1.HC race where there is plenty of money?

It also isn't any worse than races like Eneco.

 

[DirtyWorks]

...if they want to branch out then use countries that actually care about cycling like Colombia.

Monetizing the sport is the only definition of growth that matters for Pat and Hein. This is going to be just like the other races in the area, no one around but the race crew and perhaps some royalty.

Think about the Dubai event like a package. Pat delivers a race package anywhere there's a buyer. He doesn't care no one is watching in these far-flung locales.

If Colombia had someone willing to pay Pat and the UCI, they'd get a similarly ranked event. Mass participation in competitive cycling and/or a big fan base carries zero interest. Pay Pat for his package and Colombia gets it's own Vuelta de Colombia with UCI elite roadies.

 

[DirtyWorks]

Races are disappearing or getting shortened in bankrupt Europe.
why not have a 1.HC race where there is plenty of money?

It also isn't any worse than races like Eneco.

I would argue the UCI is forcing most of the traditional events off the calendar because the UCI/ASO/RCS does not own the media rights. They do this by increasing the requirements to stay on the calendar knowing full well the consequences to the traditional events.

What you will end up with is broadcast events from all over the world and no one watching roadside. Cycling monetized!

At some point, an event in Sochi, Russia should fall out of the sky onto the elite calendar like this Dubai race.

 

[Parrulo]

Just like it killed F1?

Oh wait.

There was all sorts of moaning when Oman was set up but that turned out to be a decent race. There was also plenty of (justified) complaints about Beijing 2011. Maybe we should wait and see how many mountains the Sheikhs build first

unless F1's soul is the public on the side of the road then that is a very bad comparison.

 

[the asian]

At some point, an event in Sochi, Russia should fall out of the sky onto the elite calendar like this Dubai race.

Dubai isn't a WT race. Also I see no harm in Russia getting a 1.HC race or even a
WT race. After all, it has produced two GT winners.
There is uncertainty over the proposed tour of Russia in 2014 due to Katusha debacle though.

 

[Arnout]

Dubai is mostly flat. At least in Abu Dhabi they have a nice tarmacked mountain in Jebel Hafeet. I did think a Tour of the UAE was inevitably coming, mind.

No. Top priority of the biggest Emirates is to be better than the others, not to impress the world together.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Krasnodar Krai and the area around Sochi could actually produce a decent race too, with hilly stages around Novorossiysk and Tuapse, and a mountaintop finish either at Mount Akhun or at Rosa Khutor or Laura, the mountaintop Olympic ski resorts.

Al-Ain is in Abu Dhabi and only really has the one major hill there, so I don't see that being the source as long as competition between the Emirates is a factor. They'll probably be building some rises on the slow gentle uphill inland or something for that 68km cycling circuit they're developing. Might have no "real" hills but be up and down all day, a bit like the Krylatskoye circuit in Moscow.

From the mooted event though, it seems like my apocalyptic vision of the future in the Race Design Thread simply wasn't apocalyptic enough. This truly is turning into F1, with the heads of the organisation openly siding with the ones that win the most often, more corner-cutting than the square circling society, and the sport selling out to the highest bidder thousands of miles from the fans or any local interest for a series of soulless events that provide next to no spectacle and little in the way of interest visually. This event will be like the equivalent of the Bahrain Grand Prix. One of the most dull circuits of the year, one of the most dull races, little to no overtaking possibilities, shorn of even the diversions of the champagne, in front of no fans, in baking heat. Sounds like the future for sure.