Nothing stands in the way of a royal sprint in stage five of the UAE Tour

In the fourth stage, a bunch sprint was not yet a foregone conclusion, but on Friday it would have to go very wrong for the stage not to end in a showdown of the fast men. The 166-kilometer stage is almost entirely flat. Jonathan Milan, step right up! WielerFlits previews the action.

Route

For the fifth stage, the caravan heads to the emirate of Dubai. The riders start from the city of the same name for a flat, sprinter-friendly 160-kilometer race.

After departing Dubai, the riders head towards the desert, passing several well-known locations visited in recent years. Think of the 86-kilometer Al Qudra Cycling Track and Meydan Racecourse. This racecourse opened on March 27, 2010. The grandstand is one and a half kilometers long and can hold over 60,000 spectators.

The route then winds along wide and almost straight roads, interspersed with roundabouts and a few bends, returning back to Dubai. The finish is on a wide avenue just in front of the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University, named after the crown prince of Dubai. The last 700 meters are straightforward.