Bradley Wiggins (WIGGINS), Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) and Taylor Phinney (BMC Racing) are expected to lead the line at the 2016 Dubai Tour in February. The four-day stage race returns for a thir year after the inaugural edition in 2014, which was won by Mark Cavendish.
Wiggins heads to Dubai as part of his preparation for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, where he will be looking to claim a final gold medal in the team pursuit. He raced the Tour of Qatar in 2015 as part of Team Sky and used that event to build up for a shot at Paris-Roubaix.
The 2016 Dubai Tour route sees the race once again return to Hatta Dam, the location where John Degenkolb took a famous stage win on the 17 per cent climb to the line.
The race kicks off with a 179km stage between Dubai and Fujairah. Marcel Kittel (Ettix QuickStep) is expected lead his new team in the race, making his debut after leaving Giant Shimano at the end of 2015. If he can find his form he should feature among the favourites for the opening leader's jersey. Stage 2 will see the race head to Palm Jameirah, as it did in 2015, when Elia Vivianni won the stage. The next stage climbs to Hatta Dam before the final stage that takes place in the centre of Dubai.
Cyclingnews will provide extensive coverage of all the racing with interviews, news and exclusives during the four-day race.
