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Monday, December 14, 2015

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A stockbroker urged me to buy a stock that would triple its value every year. I told him, "At my age, I don't even buy green bananas." - Claude Pepper

Dimitry Fofonov replaces Astana manager Martinelli

Dimitry Fofonov has been appointed manager of the Astana team, replacing Giuseppe Martinelli. The announcement was made by team boss Alexandre Vinokourov.

Vincenzo Nibali and Giuseppe Martinelli at the 2013 Vuelta a España

L'Equipe reports that Martinelli will stay with the team as a logistics manager. He has been with Astana since 2010.

Fofonov was a professional racer from 1998 to 2012 and raced for Collstrop, Credit Agricole and Astana.

Tom Vissers, co-founder of Amstel Gold Race, passes away

Tom Vissers passed away at the age of 93. He and Herman Kott founded the Amstel Gold Race, the only Dutch Classic. He passed away on Friday after becoming seriously ill in the summer.

2016 Dubai Tour teams and route announced

Here's the race route, February 3 - 6th, 2016:

2016 Tour of Dubai race map

Total, 671 kilometers

This will be the third edition of the Tour of Dubai.

Stage 1: Fujairah Stage / February 3 Dubai International Marine Club – Fujairah (179km)

The stage joins the beach of Dubai Marina on the Arabian Gulf with the beach of Fujairah on the Indian Ocean (Gulf of Oman). It runs through the entire stretch of desert between Dubai and Fujairah through the territory of four different Emirates (Dubai, Sharjah, Ras al-Khaimah, Fujairah).

It touches the Silicon Oasis area before facing the long straights that, cutting through the dunes, lead to the Hajar Mountains for a short and mild sequence of hills. It then arrives into Fujairah, where there will be a 6.6km circuit to be completed twice.

Stage 2: Nakheel Stage / February 4 Dubai International Marine Club – Palm Jumeirah (Atlantis) (188km)

A stage of two distinct parts. The first part is just outside the metropolis, partially in the desert, the second part within Dubai Marina to end in Palm Jumeirah, in front of the Atlantis “door”. The first part will pass next to the Camel Track, the Al Qudra bike path, the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Sports Complex pool and through the desert. The second part returns into the city touching Dubailand, the Jumeirah Golf Club and Dubai Sports City. It then heads to the finale on the Palm through an underwater tunnel before the last kilometres, with the halfway point on the artificial island. From here there will be 3200m to the final sprint.

Stage 3: The Westin Stage / February 5 Dubai International Marine Club – Hatta Dam (172km)

It’s the hardest stage of Dubai tour, 172km on a course which replicates almost entirely the inaugural edition stage, with the addition of the harder final climb of Hatta Dam, as experienced in 2015. It’s characterized by long stretches in the desert crossing the two neighboring Emirates of Sharjah and Ras-al-Khaimah. Once it has left the last buildings in Dubai, the stage will touch Labab, Al Madam and Al Malahia on the road to Hatta where, before facing the finale, riders will face two climbs, the second with peaks of 11% and a fast and challenging downhill. The last three kilometres are a continuous ascent up to face the final climb that leads to the dam: a short stretch of about 200 meters with an inclination from 12% to 17%.

Stage 4: Burj Stage / February 6 Dubai International Marine Club – Burj Khalifa (132km)

The final stage is now a classic, with just a few changes compared to the previous editions, going through the Old and New Town. It starts in the direction of the great Meydan Racecourse to reach and cross Mushrif Park and then move to the beaches of Al Mamzar. It then runs through Deira, Al Maktoum Bridge and the entire Old Town, almost to Port Rashid, and from there enters the Jumeirah Road past the large Union Flag. Then there’s a u-turn at the Burj-al-Arab to go back to Jumeirah Road and reach the Burj Khalifa which is the finishing point.

Here is the news about the teams invited:

The list includes 10 UCI WorldTeams (seven of those members of the Velon group), three UCI Professional Continental teams, two UCI Continental teams and the UAE National Selection. Each team at the start of Dubai Tour will consist of six riders.

Sir Bradley Wiggins, commenting the announcement, said: "I’m really excited to be racing with my team at the 2016 Dubai Tour. It’s a really exciting event and we’re looking forward to competing with some of the best teams in the world".

UCI WorldTeams:

ASTANA PRO TEAM (KAZ)
BMC RACING TEAM (USA)
DIMENSION DATA (RSA)
ETIXX - QUICK STEP (BEL)
LAMPRE - MERIDA (ITA)
MOVISTAR TEAM (ESP)
TEAM GIANT - ALPECIN (GER)
TEAM SKY (GBR)
TINKOFF (RUS)
TREK FACTORY RACING (USA)

UCI Professional Continental Teams:

CCC SPRANDI POLKOWICE (POL)
ONE PRO CYCLING (GBR)
TEAM NOVO NORDISK (USA)

UCI Continental Teams:

SKYDIVE DUBAI PRO CYCLING TEAM - AL AHLI CLUB (UAE)
TEAM WIGGINS (GBR)

National Selection:

UAE NATIONAL SELECTION (UAE)

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