@dubaitour DUBAI TOUR 2015 ON THE LAUNCH PAD

Following the great success of the first Dubai Tour last February, today sees the launch of the 2015 edition.
Organised by the Dubai Sports Council in partnership with RCS Sport, the United Arab Emirates’ major cycling event hit some impressive numbers in its debut edition:

• 4 stages
• 16 teams, 11 of them UCI ProTeams
• 102 countries across 5 continents receiving HD TV coverage
• 127 riders at the race start, representing 34 different nationalities
• 146 staff members of the race organisation
• 164 media accreditations issued to Emirati and international journalists
• 173 VIP guests attending the race
• 320 volunteers
• 417 kilometres race distance
• 850 law enforcement officers
• 1450 children welcomed to the stage starts and finishes
• 2797 overnight hotel stays for teams, organisers and guests
• 50,000 views on the official YouTube channel
• 100,000 unique visitors since the launch of the official website
• 150,000 page views
• 2,500,000 people reached on Twitter via the profile @dubaitour and the hashtag #dubaitour2014
• 135,868,535 total unique web visitors reached by news reports

The 2015 Dubai Tour provisional dates are 4th to 7th February, as requested to the Union Cycliste Internationale. The dates are due to be ratified, as usual, during the UCI Road World Championships in September, confirming Dubai Tour as the first race of the year in the Asia Tour UCI Road Calendar.



Mr Osama Al Shafar, Vice-President of the Dubai Tour Higher Committee and President of the UAE Cycling Federation:

“Welcome back. We had a press conference here one year ago, and now we are here again. After the great success of the first edition, we’re very much looking forward to the 2015 Dubai Tour. I want to take this occasion to thank all the media for the great support showed towards the 2014 edition and I look forward to watching you cover ‘Dubai Tour’ in the coming year.

“For the second edition we are seeking to improve the event and to make the route pass by the most prominent landmarks of Dubai. This will give you different and spectacular images to make it a unique event with unforgettable memories.”

Mr Mauro Vegni, RCS Sport Cycling Director:

“After the great success of the first edition, both on a sporting level and in terms of media coverage, we are proud to announce today the Dubai Tour second edition. We’ve requested to the UCI the dates of 4 February to 7 February for the 2015 edition. These dates are due to be ratified during the World Championships.

“In 2014 top level athletes raced in Dubai and we count on maintaining the same level of competition, even improving it if possible in 2015. I wish to thank the Dubai Sports Council for the excellent job they’ve done in partnership with us in organising this great international event.”