Race analysis, favourites, and predictions for UAE Tour 2023

When Union Cycliste Internationale announced the calendar of the 2023 UCI Women's WorldTour, the big surprise was the inclusion of the women's UAE Tour. The newly created event debuts directly as part of the highest world cycling circuit, and thus becomes a historic event for women's sports in the Middle East, as it is the first race since the foundation of the WWT to be held in the region.

The route

Four stages make up the race, with stages 1, 2 and 4 well suited for sprint arrivals. The general classification will surely be decided in the traditional climb of the men's event to Jabel Hafeet (10.8 km at 6.7%) on day 3.

In some sections of the flat stages, especially in the second one, which ends in Al Mirfa, the race will be exposed to desert winds, which can form echelons in the peloton.

The favorites

With only 3 days to go before the start of the race, the start list is still in a very early stage. At the moment, Lorena Wiebes (1200), Clara Consonni (600), Emma Norsgaard (1000), Marta Bastianelli (800), Charlotte Kool (400) and Alice Barnes (600) are the favorites for the sprint stages, while Elisa Longo Borghini (1000), Liane Lippert (1000) and Kristen Faulkner (1000) seem the best candidates to win the general classification. However, we must be attentive to the start list, since many teams haven’t publish their line-ups yet.