GIACOMO NIZZOLO (TREK-SEGAFREDO) WINS STAGE 1, ADNOC STAGE, OF THE ABU DHABI TOUR AND TAKES RED JERSEY

Madinat Zayed,20 October 2016 – The Italian rider Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) won Stage 1 - ADNOC Stage - of the Abu Dhabi Tour, Madinat Zayed - Madinat Zayed (147km), and took the lead in the overall General Classification. On the podium he was rewarded with the first race leader's Red Jersey and also the Green Jersey of the points leader.

STAGE RESULT

1 - Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) 147km in 3h15’59”, average speed 45.003km/h

2 - John Degenkolb (Team Giant - Alpecin) s.t.

3 - Mark Cavendish (Team Dimension Data) s.t.

JERSEYS

•RED JERSEY, sponsored by Abu Dhabi Sports Council (General Classification by time) – Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) 

•GREEN JERSEY, sponsored by Nation Towers (General Classification by points) – Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) 

•WHITE JERSEY, sponsored by Abu Dhabi Sports (Best Young Rider, born after 1 January 1991) – Dion Smith (One Pro Cycling)

•BLACK JERSEY, sponsored by Etihad (Intermediate Sprint Classification) – Jens Keukeleire (Orica - BikeExchange)

Speaking seconds after the stage finish, the winner said: "After the Worlds on Sunday I said I wanted to end the season with a victory and that's the best way to start the Abu Dhabi Tour. With 20km to go, when I saw the gap to the four breakaway riders was still so big, I decided to put one guy [Niccolo Bonifazio] to the front and it was the right thing to do. Everyone knows the big names that are in contention here so I'm obviously very happy to beat them. The temperature was quite high at the beginning of the race but coming from the World Championships, I was used to it, and after half way into the race, it was much better and not a problem for me."

Press conference interviews and further details to follow.

TOMORROW'S STAGE: Stage 2 – NATION TOWERS STAGE / ABU DHABI – ABU DHABI (Al Marina) (115KM)

The second stage is mostly in the city. After the start, the peloton will travel on wide roads towards the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, and then towards Yas Island with a passage through Khalifa City, where there are several roundabouts and speed humps. After the Yas Island first Intermediate Sprint, the race goes to the Sheikh Zayed bin Highway towards Abu Dhabi Corniche. It follows a route within Reem Island – including the second Intermediate Sprint – then returns to the Corniche finish line. The entire route is on wide boulevards with road furniture constantly dividing the lanes.

Last km

The final 5km are on increasingly large roads with large semi-curves leading to the straight finish on asphalt.

• Abu Dhabi Tour website
• Abu Dhabi Tour YouTube Channel
• Facebook page
• Twitter page
• Google+ Profile
• Instagram official

The Abu Dhabi Tour, organised by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council with the collaboration of RCS Sport, will take place from 20 to 23 October. 

#UCICyclingGala

The second edition of the UCI Cycling Gala, an event conceived to celebrate the end of the UCI professional road cycling season and its stakeholders, will take place in the evening of October 18th. The event will be produced by Abu Dhabi Sports Council in collaboration with RCS Sport, in the presence of biggest names in professional men’s and women’s road cycling, UCI Management Committee members, representatives of national federations, international media and all the athletes that will take part to the upcoming Abu Dhabi Tour: during the evening the UCI Cycling Gala will also feature the official Team Presentation of the Abu Dhabi Tour. The following day (19 October), race preliminary operations and Top Rider press conference are scheduled.

Abu Dhabi Tour Media Kit

From the official online pressroom the media can download high resolution pictures of the 2015 race, the various press conferences, the opening ceremony and the final evening which was dedicated to the very first UCI Cycling Gala.

In order to download the pictures, just go to http://pressroom.rcssport.it/ (username: press / password: press), select “Scarica contenuti/Download contents” on the top right, choose “2015” or "2016" from the menu on the left, then “Ciclismo”, and then “Abu Dhabi Tour”. The photos are free of charge for editorial use, as long as both the Abu Dhabi Tour and the photographer’s name is quoted.  

In addition to the photos, the official promo video is available for the same purposes. The clip is free of charge for editorial use exclusively on internet, as long as Abu Dhabi Tour is accredited. Here is the link.

n