UAE Tour 2020 Route stage 5: Al Ain

UAE Tour 2020 Route stage 5: Al Ain - Jebel Hafeet

Thursday 27 February - At 162 kilometres, the 5th stage of the UAE Tour will be decisive in terms of GC. The route runs on the flat to a summit finish at Jebel Hafeet. The final drag is 10.8 kilometres long and the average gradient sits at 6.6%. The ascent served as finish climb on stage 3 also.

Following a long day on exposed roads the race comes down to the last 10.8 kilometres. Alejandro Valverde used to like this climb very much. In last year’s UAE Tour he outgunned Primoz Roglic in a two-up sprint, while he also won atop Jebeel Hafeet in 2018’s Abu Dhabi Tour.

Yet, the Spaniard was dropped halfway up the Jebel Hafeet on stage 3. Adam Yates climbed to victory, winning the race more than 1 minute ahead of Tadej Pogacar, while Alexey Lutsenko sprinted to third place.

The 5th stage starts on the border with Oman, in Al Ain, to penetrate the desert. Following a large and entirely flat loop the riders return to Al Ain. They move through the city to take the Jebel Ḥafeeṫ Mountain Road, which is a three-lane roadway that goes up for 10.8 kilometres.

The Jebel Ḥafeeṫ climb remains wide all the way to the line, while the average gradient sits at 6.6%. The slope is hovering between 8% to 9% from kilometre 4 to kilometre 8 and kicks up to 11% with 2.8 kilometres remaining. The road then levels out and even features a small descent just before the final ramp that leads up to the line.

The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while two intermediate sprints – at kilometre 24.6 and at kilometre 148.6 – come with 3, 2 and 1 seconds.

Another interesting read: results 5th stage 2020 UAE Tour.