2025 edition : the international peloton faces desert traps
January 14 th 2025 - 20:55 [GMT + 3]
From 28 January to 1 February, 17 international teams (including 6 WorldTeams) will have their work cut if they want to triumph over the route prepared for this fifth edition of the AlUla Tour.
On the agenda for this year's edition are 5 stages with varied profiles, rewarding riders in good form after their winter preparations.
From echelons and sprints to short and steep climbs in the desert of the AlUla region, the stage is set for a major battle at the start of the season.
Hegra, Maraya, AlManshiyah Train Station, Tayma fort and the Camel Cup Track are just some of the locations that will serve as majestic backdrops to the pedal-based clash to be played out in AlUla.
Organised in collaboration with the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Sport, the Saudi Cycling Federation, and the International Cycling Union (UCI), the AlUla Tour represents Saudi Arabia’s continuously growing presence on the global sports stage, while promoting sustainable sports development and showcasing AlUla’s remarkable culture and history. It is part of the UCI Asia Tour and is rated as a category 2.1 event. This cycling event will showcase the various wonders the region has to offer, in a race you'll need to be in top form to win.
The first flag will go down in AlUla, in front of AlManshiyah Train Station, which will also serve as the first stage’s finish. Though there is nothing particularly challenging on the 142.7 kilometres of this inaugural stage, the sprinters will have to watch their positioning if they are to earn the right to wear the leader's jersey at the end of it.
The following day, AlUla Old Town will greet the riders as they set off for Bir Jaydah Mountain Wirkah, a new finish for the event. The first part of the stage starts in relatively calm fashion, but the final section promises to be explosive – riders will have to show resistance and daring when climbing Bir Jaydah Mountain Wirkah. With an average gradient of 9.2% and maximum of 15%, the 2.9 km climb will appeal to the most committed punchers, especially since they will have to climb it 3 times over the final 50 km of this 157.7 km stage.
The third stage between Hegra and Tayma Fort is a journey through the ancient beauty of AlUla. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008, Hegra is the most important preserved site of the Nabataean civilisation and features monumental tombs with decorated façades, dating mainly from the 1st century BC. At the end of the 180.6 kilometres of this penultimate stage, the AlUla Tour will offer riders the chance to discover Tayma Fort, an archaeological site revealing treasures testifying to the activity of the region several hundred years ago.
After this day rich in ancient culture, the Tour provides a link to the modernity of AlUla, with the start of the fourth and penultimate leg of the journey providing a breathtaking spectacle in the form of Maraya – the largest mirrored building in the world – which reflects the natural landscape of AlUla. But the riders will have to remain focused as they set off on a 140.9 km route that will take them up to Skyviews of Harrat Uwayrid, a 4 km climb, including one kilometre at an average gradient of 17%. Their efforts will see the fittest riders break away in the overall classification. The podium on this stage also served as the final podium in the previous edition.
The overall leader will have to be extra vigilant on the morning of the last stage of this AlUla Tour 2025, with the final route promising to force riders to battle it out for places. Traced in a loop around the Camel Cup Track, the 169.6 km route will be windswept, particularly in the final stretch and on the track usually dedicated to camel racing, a tradition rooted in the cultural history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Arab world. The risk of echelons will be on everyone's mind, and could disrupt the established order. Once the finish line has been crossed, we'll know which rider has managed best to avoid the traps of the desert and win this fifth edition of the AlUla Tour.