Dubai: The Tour of Dubai 2014 cycling has been touted as an event that has the power to instil change in society in the emirate, and all for the right reasons.

So far, everything that has gone in the planning of the season-opener on the international cycling calendar has been of grandiose proportions. An opening ceremony and a start and finish with the world’s tallest building as the backdrop is just one of these aspects.

Add to this the fact that all four stages of the race — barring the third one when riders go out to take in some desert beauty — will be run very much within city limits. It’s one sure way of Dubai presenting itself, yet again, on the big international sporting stage.

Organisers have been putting final touches to everything connected with the race. From the opening ceremony on Tuesday evening to the grand finale at the foot of the Burj Khalifa, much attention has been paid to each and every detail.

There is a thinking behind this. Dubai has won the bid to host Expo 2020. And now it is time to pronounce itself as a vibrant city that makes things happen. Such is the vision of the leaders and the ones who have been entrusted with carrying forward this dream — in this case Saeed Hareb, Huraiz Bin Huraiz and Osama Al Shafar — want to see the race as a true manifestation of Dubai before the world.

There is a fair amount of challenges while deliberately keeping the stages of the tour within city limits. We are all too aware of Dubai traffic woes at any given time. So road closures during the next week is something that we need to get used to, for the safety of the cyclists – who at most times travel at 60 kph or more – and for our own safety too.

Hareb and his team can well foresee the chaos over the next few days. But it is a task that needs to be carried out, and it needs to be executed properly. “I have a plea to the residents of Dubai,” Saeed Hareb told me in a candid chat last week.

“I want Dubai residents to plan well in advance if they have a need to go out. I would rather ask them to come out of their homes and cheer the cyclists as they pass along. In this way they will have a minimum amount of inconvenience,” he added.

“This race is for Dubai and everyone must be proud to come forward to make this event their own.”