Favorites stage 2 UAE Tour 2024 | Curse of the rainbow over for Tobias Foss?!

Flat as a pancake, that's what this time trial in the UAE Tour is. Just like in 2021, the time trial will take place on the island of Al Hudayriyat. Back then, Italian Filippo Ganna clocked significantly faster times than other strong riders such as Stefan Bissegger, Mikkel Bjerg, and Tadej Pogacar, after leader Mathieu van der Poel and his Alpecin-Fenix team failed to start due to COVID protocols.

Immediately after the start, there's a fairly technical section with two turns. Then it's a straight shot to the waypoint at the 5.7-kilometer mark. From there, we head back towards the starting podium, with another technical section as we approach the final three kilometers. The time trial will take place entirely on wide roads.

Climbs
No.

Times
Start: 2:05 p.m. (11:05 a.m. Dutch time)
Finish: 4:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. Dutch time)

The sun is shining nicely in Abu Dhabi, where the riders should take into account a fairly strong wind from the west. The temperature hovers around 24 degrees Celsius.

There have been years when all the top time trialists competed in the UAE Tour, but at least this year, that spotlight has been claimed by the Tour of the Algarve. There, riders like Remco Evenepoel, Filippo Ganna, Wout van Aert, and Stefan Küng competed, who will obviously be absent in the United Arab Emirates as a result.

Nevertheless, there are still some strong contenders remaining. UAE-Team Emirates is evidently focusing on this race, where they can position several riders at the forefront for the time trial. Brandon McNulty, Mikkel Bjerg, Jay Vine, and even current classification leader Adam Yates could potentially contend for victory on any given day, with the former two in particular having a strong chance at a stage win.

Former world time trial champion Tobias Foss faces his first time trial test on behalf of INEOS Grenadiers in the UAE Tour. The Norwegian couldn't make much of an impact in his rainbow jersey last year but appears determined to turn the tide in 2024. Additionally, there's a current world champion competing in the UAE Tour: Lorenzo Milesi holds the title in the Under-23 category and, alongside Rémi Cavagna, forms the time trial contingent for Movistar.

Riders known for their strength, like Alex Edmondson (DSM-Firmenich PostNL), Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R), Nikias Arndt (Bahrain Victorious), Tim and Mick van Dijke (Visma | Lease a Bike), Maikel Zijlaard (Tudor), and even a sprinter like Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck), can also excel over the eleven-kilometer distance. Meanwhile, it's an opportunity for classification contenders like Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step), Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), Simon Carr (EF Education-EasyPost), and Bart Lemmen (Visma | Lease a Bike) to gain time on the climbers.

Top favorites: Tobias Foss (INEOS Grenadiers) and Brandon McNulty (UAE-Team Emirates)
Outsiders: Mikkel Bjerg, Jay Vine (UAE-Team Emirates), Rémi Cavagna (Movistar) and Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step)
Long shots: Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R), Bart Lemmen (Visma | Lease a Bike), Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar), Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Adam Yates (UAE-Team Emirates), Alex Edmondson (dsm-firmenich PostNL) and Simon Carr (EF Education-EasyPost)