The riders clip into their pedals near the oldest and largest castle of all seven emirates combined. The route winds its way north before the finish climb kicks in.
The summit of Jebel Jais is the only place in the United Arab Emirates where snow has been reported. Far from frequent though, you can count the occasions on the fingers of one hand, although it did happen last year. The Jebel Jais reaches an altitude of 1,943 metres. As far as the riders are concerned, Jebel Jais doesn’t go higher than 1,491 metres, which is where the finish lies.
With a number of prolonged false flat sections on the run-up to the Jebel Jais ascent, the 5th stage is arguably the hardest stage of the UAE Tour. The last 21.1 kilometres rise 5.4% on a carriageway, while the surrounds are barren and rocky. As if climbing on the moon.
Jebel Jais includes wide hairpins and the gradients hover between 4 to 6% in the first part. The second half is slightly tougher with a steepest ramp of 9% inside the last 2.8 kilometres. This section averages 7.1%.
It will be the third time a pro-peloton visits Jebel Jais. Primoz Roglic outsprinted Tom Dumoulin in 2019, while Jonas Vingegaard won last year’s Jebel Jais stage with a late attack. The margins were small though, on both occassions. The consistent but fairly shallow gradient of the climb made it hard to open up substantial gaps.
The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the intermediate sprints come with 3, 2 and 1 seconds.
Ride the route yourself? Download GPX stage 4.
Another interesting read: results 4th stage 2022 UAE Tour.
UAE Tour 2022 – stage 4: route, profile, tweets
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