The UAE Tour Women is the only women’s WorldTour race in the Middle East which makes it unique, but there’s more to it than just geography.
Fabrizio D’Amico is the chief operating officer of race organisers RCS Sport and has been instrumental in bringing the race to fruition. For him, it’s about focusing on the quality of racing and promoting equality.
“We want to provide the same quality of race as the Tour de France and the Giro women now and to make the athletes feel, first of all, safe riding and to give something that they never experienced,” D’Amico told Cyclingnews.
“I want to provide the same quality as the men’s racing and be in line with the UCI guidelines.
“But it’s also really important that we bring gender equality and raise the prize money, which is in line with the men’s race, but adapted to the four stages compared to the seven.”
RCS has also made several adjustments to the race, as requested by riders, which aren’t always seen on the women’s WorldTour.
“It might sound a little bit strange, but we put toilets around the route for the first three stages in line with the CPA and the riders’ requests,” D’Amico said.
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
“We added more changing rooms at the start and at the finish line and more washrooms to help make the athletes feel comfortable.”
Now in its third year, the race has grown considerably, and this year’s race is the longest edition.
It’s also an impressive feat of infrastructure, with over 200 vehicles in the caravan, over 200 marshals on the course, and a police presence from different departments each day.
While the first edition of the UAE Tour Women was in 2023 – won by Elisa Longo Borghini – there could have been a race a few years earlier.
“A women’s race was in the plan since around 2017 – 2018 as an idea for the development of cycling, but things needed to mature to get to the right point,” D’Amico said.
According to D’Amico there could have been a women’s race as early as 2021 but he was given just three months to organise it which was not enough.
“A well-done race takes a while to organise, and we needed to gain respect and credibility in order to attract the best teams,” D’Amico said.
