After getting close to victory in last year's edition of the race, Andrea Guardini will lead Astana at the Dubai Tour.

"The condition is good and I hope to do well already here in Dubai," said Andrea Guardini. "My goal is to win at least one stage. The team is strong and I can count on the help of my teammates in the sprints. "

"Guardini will be our point man," said the sports director Dmitri Sedoun, "and we will work to put him in a position to win. One of the major pitfalls will be the strong wind, we’ll have to be very careful. "

Ruslan Tleubayev will be the man who will help Guardini in the last km. "He has a good condition," added Sedoun," and if Andrea does not do the sprint, it's up to Ruslan."

The third edition of the Dubai Tour is a race which is well suited to the sprinters. In fact, three of the stages will most likely end with a bunch sprint.

The only exception is the third stage - from Dubai to Hatta Dam, 172 km - with a final wall of 300 meters with slopes greater than 15%.