This is the third time that the peloton has been held in the historic AlUla region, and the first time under a new name, the AlUla Tour (previously the Saudi Tour). The five-stage race will be held from January 30th to February 3rd, covering 816km and an altitude difference of approximately 6,000m.
Historically, this race has favored sprinters, and punchers have had their say, too.
Our team is not only ready to compete for GC, but also to aim for stage wins, said Principal Sporting Director Enrico Pojtschke. Fred Wright will fight for a good result on GC, but Dusan Lajovic is fast and he will be our go-to rider in the sprint stages. All the other riders are in good shape and highly motivated. They will be joined by experienced support riders Andrea Pasqualon and Jascha Schutterlin. Ahmed Madan has been racing for the past two years and has a lot of experience in this race. Edoardo Zambanini and Finlay Pickering are strong young riders who make a great team. The goal is to win the stage, and in GC we will fight for a podium. ”
The first stage is suitable for sprinters, while the second stage has a short but steep climb and may be suitable for punchers, finishing in the Shallan Nature Reserve. Stage 3 looks very flat, but the terrain is very exposed and the wind can easily shake up the GC. It is a novel stage that ends with a camel cup track. The fourth stage is a stage that connects Saudi history (Hegra) and future (Malaya), but in terms of performance it will be a sprinter’s stage. Nothing is decided until the final stage. The final GC battle can be seen on the climb to Skyviews in Harrat Uwayrid, which is 1km long and has an average gradient of 17%. This climb is familiar to all riders as it is always on the ‘menu’ at AlUla.
Our sprinter Dusan Lajovic: “First of all, I am very happy and very motivated to take on the role of main sprinter for the team in this race. I did it last year too and it was really great. It was an interesting race. This year will be a great opportunity for me. The race, some stages and some finishes are very similar to last year’s race and that will definitely help. In Saudi I will do my best to achieve a good result.”
Our GC candidate Fred Wright commented: It was our first race as a team in 2020, so we had some really good memories. Phil won the overall race and we won several stages as well. I did it two years ago, and I’m looking forward to getting hooked on it. The shape is starting to look really nice. As training camp progressed, I felt better and things went well. I’m looking forward to testing the leg and seeing if I can get a good result in the GC as well and if I can get a result in any of the stages. We have two guys aiming for the win, and we also got Duchamp, who is in good shape for the flat sprint stage. We have a very balanced team for the race, with GC and sprint options. It’s really exciting. It’s always fun to go to different parts of the world. I remember the team presentation at Elephant Rock a few years ago was really great… There are so many great parts to racing, not just bike racing. We have a good team suited for it and the wind could split the order, but as a classics rider I’m more excited about that aspect of the race. I think it’s the perfect preparation to get my legs moving for the rest of the season. I hope I can get off to a good start. ”