| 2020 UCI World Tour, race 3 of 21 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | 23–27 February 2020[nb 1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 5[nb 2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 835 km (518.8 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 20h 35' 04" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2020 UAE Tour was a road cycling stage race that took place between 23 and 27 February 2020 in the United Arab Emirates (initially scheduled to take place between the 23 and 29 February). It was the second edition of the UAE Tour and the third race of the 2020 UCI World Tour.[1]
The race was held during the COVID-19 pandemic, and following the fifth stage, two staff members of one of the teams tested positive for COVID-19.[2] In response, the local authorities quarantined and tested all participants, including riders, organisers and team members, and cancelled the remaining two stages.[2][3] As of March 3, 2020, most teams had left the country and returned to their normal early season schedules, but some teams were still being held within the UAE with very little explanation or assurances. They were eventually told they would be allowed to leave their hotel on March 14.[4][5]
The race was consequently won by British rider Adam Yates of Mitchelton–Scott, who was leading the race prior to the cancellation. Yates took the race leader's jersey following the third stage, one of the two mountain-top finishes on Jebel Hafeet, taking a clear stage victory with over a minute's advantage over Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and maintained his lead during the second mountainous stage, won by Pogačar, who was ultimately classified second in the general classification and took the white jersey for the young riders' classification. Alexey Lutsenko of Astana completed the podium, over a minute and a half behind Yates, thanks to strong finishes on the two mountainous stages.
Among the race's other jerseys, in addition to Pogačar taking the young rider's classification, Caleb Ewan of Lotto–Soudal collected the most points in the points classification thanks to a win on the second stage and consistently high finishes on the other flat stages. The sprints classification was won by Veljko Stojnić of Vini Zabù–KTM, whilst thanks to the high placings of Pogačar, Diego Ulissi and Davide Formolo, UAE Team Emirates took the teams classification, finishing over three minutes ahead of the second best team, Astana.
Cite error: There are <ref group=nb> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=nb}} template (see the help page).
- ^ "UAE Tour". UAE Tour. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
- ^ a b "Final UAE Tour stages called off over coronavirus fears". CyclingNews. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
- ^ "Chris Froome among riders being tested for coronavirus at cancelled UAE Tour". CyclingNews. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
- ^ cite web|url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/cofidis-please-dont-forget-us-as-coronavirus-quarantine-continues/
- ^ cite news|url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/four-riders-reported-to-be-positive-for-coronavirus-at-uae-tour/