Preview written by Sergio Yustos (@sergioyustos_) and Fantasy Tips by Cédric Molina (@ilcapoced)

ROUTE ANALYSIS

STAGE 1 - Sprint finish/Puncheurs

• Schedule: 10:10 - 13:30 CET

Without any major climbs, the opening day of this UAE Tour still packs just over 1,400 metres of accumulated elevation. It is clearly a stage for sprinters, but watch out, because the final 500 metres average almost 6%. It will be decisive in determining the first leader of the race.

STAGE 2 - Individual time trial

• Schedule: 10:05 - 13:30 CET

Hudayriyat Island will host the time trial of this day. Just over 12 completely flat kilometres on a circuit that will be totally exposed to the wind; this could be a key factor on this stage.

STAGE 3 - GC contenders

• Schedule: 09:30 - 14:00 CET

Jebel Mobrah (12 km - 8.4%) will be the first summit finish of this UAE Tour. A long climb with some tough sections, but generally with fairly consistent gradients, especially in the final 6 kilometres.

STAGE 4 - Sprint stage

• Schedule: 10:00 - 14:00 CET

A day for the fast men. We’ll see if echelons spice things up before a finish where, mind you, the last kilometres are more technical. The organisation of the lead-out train and positioning will be very important.

STAGE 5 - Sprint stage

• Schedule: 10:20 - 14:00 CET

A practically flat day in this UAE Tour. A stage where, if the wind doesn’t show up, we can expect little beyond a massive bunch sprint. Watch out for the final kilometres because they are quite tricky in terms of sprint positioning.

STAGE 6 - GC contenders

• Schedule: 10:00 - 14:00 CET

Time for the climb to Jebel Hafeet (10.8 km - 6.8%). A tough ascent whose average gradient is reduced by the final kilometres. The GC will be at stake and we will likely see an exciting climb.

STAGE 7 - Sprint stage

• Schedule: 10:15 - 13:30 CET

A totally flat day awaits in this final stage of the UAE Tour. A stage that finishes at Abu Dhabi Port. When it comes to deciding the stage, we must highlight the importance the wind can have in this very exposed area. A good day for opportunists.

THE WEATHER

The wind will be the only significant weather factor during this UAE Tour. Neither rain nor temperatures should influence the race over the week, but we must keep an eye on the wind, which could end up changing the course of the stages.

GC FAVORITES

The presence of Remco Evenepoel automatically makes him the big favourite for the race. Given the Belgian’s form at the start of this season and the presence of a time trial, it is hard to imagine anyone beating the world time trial champion in the final GC. His main rivals will be Isaac del Toro (who is making his seasonal debut) and Adam Yates, who, despite coming off a “knock” at the Tour de Omán, once again starts here as one of the favourites.

Behind them we find other riders such as Antonio Tiberi, Lennert Van Eetvelt, Derek Gee (who returns to racing with Lidl-Trek after a long spell without competing), Ilan Van Wilder, Luke Plapp and Finn Fisher-Black. However, we really shouldn’t close the circle at this point, because we know that this type of race can depend heavily on whether we see echelons on any given day, which can end up shaping the GC.

From here we move to a third tier of notable names, where we find riders like Pablo Castrillo, Félix Gall, Ben Tulett, Michael Storer, Ben O'Connor, Nairo Quintana, David Gaudu, Tobias Halland Johannessen, Junior Lecerf, Harold López, Afonso Eulálio and Sergio Higuita, who can genuinely give us some hope for this race. The Condor, in fact, has already shown on many occasions that he handles echelons perfectly, and that kind of situation could suit him down to the ground.

In the youngsters-and-surprises bracket, we find riders such as Mathys Rondel, Finlay Pickering, Jørgen Nordhagen, Anthon Charmig, Pavel Novák and Mattia Gaffuri. Among all of these, based on their form this season, I’d go for Rondel and Charmig.

CANDIDATES FOR STAGE WINS

We need to consider the fast men on the one hand and the time trial specialists on the other, as these are the two rider profiles that will be favourites alongside the GC contenders.

Among the fast men, the presence of Jonathan Milan clearly stands out; he should be the man to beat. Looking to challenge the Italian for victories are riders like Juan Sebastian Molano, Matteo Malucelli, Ethan Vernon, Erlend Blikra, Alberto Dainese, Gerben Thijssen, Steffen De Schuyteneer, Fabio Jakobsen, Madis Mihkels, Casper Van Uden and Sam Welsford. To this we could add other second-tier or lesser-known names such as Emmanuel Houcou, Cees Bol, Lewis Bower, Daniel Skerl, Riley Pickrel and Robin Froidevaux.

On the other hand, among the time triallists, the figure of Remco Evenepoel obviously stands out, but to try to stay close to the Belgian we’ll have to see what riders like Isaac Del Toro, Ethan Hayter, Daan Hoole, Luke Plapp, Stefan Bissegger, Florian Vermeersch and Josh Tarling can do — the latter being, personally, the only rider I really trust to fight Remco for the win. Among those who could spring a surprise, Arthur Kluckers, Matthias Schwarzbacher and Carl-Frederik Bévort stand out.

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IL CAPO CED’S RECOMMENDATIONS TO BE A BOSS IN FANTASY

📂 Five of the last seven winners were making their season debut in this race.

📂 In those same editions, the rest of the podium places have gone seven times to riders who hadn’t yet raced and seven times to riders who had already competed.

👀 Riders as important as Del Toro, Gall, Gee and Storer are making their season debuts in this race.

📂 The young riders’ jersey will be contested by riders born on or after 1 January 2001.

👀 We find riders of the calibre of Del Toro, Tiberi, Fisher-Black, Eulalio, Tulett, van Eetvelt, Lecerf, Castrillo and Pickering.

📝 If you want to build a team to fight for this jersey in Fantasy, here is an example team for you.

📝 Stage 1 of this edition has the same finish as last year, where Milan won, but be careful, because the next day there is a 12 km time trial, and that will already decide GC positions very early.

📝 My ideal ‘9’ would be made up as follows:

• 6–7 GC riders
• 2–3 sprinters
• Of the GC riders, at least 2–3 who are strong in the time trial, and also 1–3 who can fight for the young riders’ classification

📝 It is important to highlight that the trio Remco - del Toro - Milan costs us 3,600 coins out of the 5,000 we have as a budget. So if we choose to go with those three cyclists, the rest of the team will have to be completed with one rider costing 400 coins and five costing 200.

📂 Riders picked by fewer than 10% of users who finished in the Top 15 of Fantasy points.
2025: 5
2024: 4
2023: 2
2022: 6
2021: 7

📂 Riders costing 200 coins who finished in the Top 15 of Fantasy points.
2025: 1
2024: 3
2023: 4
2022: 3
2021: 4