The organizers of the Giro d'Italia have "set up a new end-of-season race, the Abu Dhabi Tour," according to SKY SPORTS. RCS Sport announced on Monday that the four-day event "will be held for the first time" from Oct. 8-11 next year. It is the company’s second race in the Middle East, "having staged the Dubai Tour for the first time this February." RCS Sport will co-organize it with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council (SKY SPORTS, 12/22). CYCLING NEWS' Stephen Farrand reported the Abu Dhabi Tour was "quietly given a slot in the Asia 2015 race calendar" by the Int'l Cycling Union (UCI) in October but details of the race "have only now emerged." Details of the route of the inaugural Abu Dhabi Tour will be announced in June. The four stages are "expected to visit different parts of Abu Dhabi, with a possible stage finish on the spectacular Yas Marina Circuit motor racing circuit, which is open to cyclists for evening bike rides." RCS Sport has created a subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates, headed by Lorenzo Giorgetti, to manage its "growing portfolio of events in the UAE" (CYCLING NEWS, 12/22). CYCLING WEEKLY's Gregor Brown reported 2014 Tour de France winner Vincenzo Nibali helped RCS Sport launch the 2015 Dubai Tour. He said that he plans to "race there again as he builds toward his season goals." The Abu Dhabi Tour, however, "could attract stars at the tail end of the year who are on their way back from injury or who simply have energy left to burn." It fills a mid-October slot that the Tour of Beijing "left open when it pulled out this year following four editions" (CYCLING WEEKLY, 12/22).
