The race starts on the border with Oman, in Al Ain, and heads into the desert. Following a large and entirely flat loop the riders turn back to Al Ain, but without entering the city. Instead, they take the Jebel Ḥafeeṫ Mountain Road, which is a three-lane roadway that goes up for 10.8 kilometers, while the average gradient sits at 6.6%. The section between kilometre 4 and kilometre 8 is the hardest part with gradients mostly around 8 to 9%. The climb peaks at 11% with 2.8 kilometres left to go. The road levels out in the last 2.3 kilometres and even features a minor descent just before the final ramp that leads to the finish line.
In last year’s Abu Dhabi Tour, the Jebeel Hafeet stage – which was almost identical – came down to a Miguel Ángel López/Alejandro Valverde clash. The Colombian attacked 4 kilometres. The Spaniard closed the gap before he sealed both stage and overall victory with his sprint.
Riders with a love for racing cars should return to Jebel Hafeet one day to attack Jebel Hafeet in their favourite sportscar. The climb has even been voted the greatest driving road on the planet by various experts.
The first three riders on the line win time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while two intermediate sprints (at kilometre 25.9 and at kilometre 165.3) come with 3, 2 and 1 seconds.
Another interesting read: results/race report 3rd stage 2019 UAE Tour.
UAE Tour 2019: stage 3: route, elevation, more
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