Pascal Ackermann (Bora hansgrohe) tastes success on stage 1 of the UAE Tour in 2020(Image credit: Getty Images)
Pascal Ackermann (Bora hansgrohe) on the podium at the 2020 UAE Tour(Image credit: Getty Images)
Chris Froome returned to racing in 2020 at the UAE Tour(Image credit: Getty Images)
Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) claimed a memorable win in the 2020 UAE Tour(Image credit: Getty Images)
Mark Cavendish in one of his first outings for Bahrain-McLaren(Image credit: Getty Images)
A shot of a spectator filming the peloton(Image credit: Getty Images)
UAE Team Emirates sent a strong team to their home race ini 2020(Image credit: Getty Images)
Chris Froome (Ineos Grenadiers) riding back to the peloton(Image credit: Getty Images)
The QuickStep team hit the front at the UAE Tour as they look to set up Sam Bennett(Image credit: Getty Images)
Sam Bennett came to the 2020 UAE Tour looking for stage wins in the sprints(Image credit: Getty Images)
Pascal Ackermann (Bora hansgrohe) takes the win on stage 1 of the UAE Tour(Image credit: Getty Images)
Michael Hepburn (Mitchelton Scott)(Image credit: Getty Images)
Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) rides to the sign on at the 2020 UAE Tour(Image credit: Getty Images)
The NTT squad came up short in the UAE Tour but made several major attacks in the uphill stages(Image credit: Getty Images)
NTT Pro Cycling command the front of the peloton(Image credit: Getty Images)
Caleb Ewan was too good for Sam Bennett in this uphill sprint at the UAE Tour(Image credit: Getty Images)
Caleb Ewan was too good for Sam Bennett in this uphill sprint at the UAE Tour(Image credit: Getty Images)
Victory for Caleb Ewan in the green jersey at the UAE Tour(Image credit: Getty Images)
Sam Bennett was beaten into second place by Caleb Ewan and missed out on a stage win at the 2020 UAE Tour(Image credit: Getty Images)
Chris Froome (Ineos Grenadiers) greets the media at the 2020 UAE Tour(Image credit: Getty Images)
The landscape on show at the 2020 UAE Tour(Image credit: Getty Images)
Mitchelton-Scott drive the peloton for Adam Yates(Image credit: Getty Images)
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Adam Yates makes the attack that wins him the 2002 UAE Tour (Image credit: Getty Images)
Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) would finish second in his team's home race(Image credit: Getty Images)
Adam Yates (Mitchelton Scott) wins the first summit finish at the UAE Tour in 2020(Image credit: Getty Images)
Alejandro Valverde in action at the UAE Tour(Image credit: Getty Images)
Riders sign on at a nature reserve ahead of a stage of the 2020 UAE Tour(Image credit: Getty Images)
Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) goes on the attack(Image credit: Getty Images)
Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) wins the final mountain stage of the 2020 UAE Tour(Image credit: Getty Images)
Britain's Adam Yates won the 2020 UAE Tour after one of the more memorable climbing performances of the year, soaring to victory by over a minute on the first ascent of Jebel Hafeet to seal the third – and biggest – stage race victory of his career.
The Mitchelton-Scott rider beat future Tour de France winner and home team favourite, UAE Team Emirates' Tadej Pogačar, on the summit finish, and later survived a barrage of attacks from the young Slovenian on the second ascent of the climb to seal overall victory at the race.
Pogačar relentlessly attacked Yates on that final stage but was eventually forced to settle for a stage win, crossing the line just ahead of Yates and Astana's Alexey Lutsenko, who rounded out the final podium.
Away from the GC action, a top-quality sprint field divided up a trio of stage among themselves, with Pascal Ackermann and Dylan Groenewegen triumphing on a bunch spring apiece while Caleb Ewan proved himself the master of the charge up Hatta Dam for the second year in succession.
Such was the quality on show that sprinters Sam Bennett and Fernando Gaviria – who would later be hospitalised as COVID-19 struck a pro race for the first time – would have to be happy with a second place apiece. Second chances for victory on stages 6 and 7 would ultimately never materialise, with the race cut short due to the virus. It might just have been the most memorable edition yet – for what happened on and off the road.
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