Dubai: Italian rider Fabio Aru is excited with the challenge at hand as the UAE Team Emirates makes its comeback starting with the Vuelta Burgos in Spain later this week.
Known as ‘The Knight of the four Moors’ in homage to his native island of Sardinia and for his climbing ability, Aru will be joined by Colombian Fernando Gaviria as the UAE Team Emirates attempts to continue with their winning form before all cycling activity closed down due to the coronavirus pandemic in March.
The Abu Dhabi-based team will open their challenge with a squad of seven riders at Vuelta Burgos — a 2. Pro race that is to be held from July 28 to August 1.
“We are excited and ready to return to competition in Burgos. In lockdown I had the chance to spend time at home with my young family and am feeling refreshed,” Aru told the official UAE Team Emirates.
“It was also a time of hard work — recently I was with the team at altitude in Sestriere where we put in good hours of training. We are all eager to be able to pin a race number on our backs again and be back in the peloton,” the 30-year-old rider added.
The Vuelta Burgos will be the first stage race of the ProSeries after the stop of cycling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The race is meant to provide opportunities for climbers and sprinters over the five days with Stages 3 and 5 likely to be the most decisive for the overall general classification.
The team goes into the race with many options with Gaviria heading the sprints, while Aru will be joined by David De la Cruz as the prominent climbers for the hills.
Team Manager Joxean Matxin Fernandez and Sports Directors Neil Stephens and Aurelio Corral will be leading the seven riders of UAE Team Emirates in Spain.
Sports Director Stephens was pleased with the effort put in by the riders during the past few weeks leading on to the restart of the 2020 season. “The guys are very excited and keen to get back racing. It’s been a long time coming, but the whole team has prepared well during the time at home and we are expecting good things in Burgos,” he said.
“It’s going to be a bit different than normal racing and safety of the riders, staff and wider public is going to be a big focus. The team is very balanced and we hope to feature in the action every day — both in the sprints and on the climbs,” Stephens added.
The UAE team’s next race will be northern Spain for next Sunday’s Circuito de Getxo — a 1. Pro event — that is scheduled to be held on August 2. This race will take place on a flat circuit of 175km around the coastal Basque city of Bilbao with Gaviria once again leading the UAE Team Emirates’ charge.
SQUADS
Squad for Vuelta Burgos (July 28-August 1)
Fabio Aru (Italy)
Camilo Ardila (Colombia)
David De la Cruz (Spain)
Fernando Gaviria (Colombia)
Sebastian Molano (Colombia)
Max Richeze (Argentina)
Cristian Muñoz (Colombia)
Squad for Circuito de Getzo (August 2)
Fernando Gaviria (Colombia)
Max Richeze (Argentina)
Yousuf Mirza (UAE)
Sebastian Molano (Colombia)
Cristian Muñoz (Colombia)
Ivo Oliveira (Portugal)
Rui Oliveira (Portugal)
