The new Dubai Tour which will be held for the first time next week, has released a list of the biggest names to attend the event and the line-up shapes up to be a formidable one. With the likes of Rui Costa, Vincenzo Nibali, Peter Sagan, Joaquin Rodriguez, Mark Cavendish, Marcel Kittel, Tony Martin and Fabian Cancellara all at the start, the race will serve as a testing ground for some of cycling's major stars.

The whole cycling world is eagerly anticipating the Dubai Tour’s first edition, which starts next February 5th and finishes on February 8th. The race which is organized by Giro organizers RCS Sport will kick off a series of races in the Middle East that continues with the more established Tours of Qatar and Oman, organized by Tour de France organizers ASO.

Competing on Dubai’s roads will be 16 teams, each with eight riders. The 16 teams are made up from 11 UCI ProTeams along with 3 UCI Continental Teams, the United Arab Emirates national team and the Dubai Sky Dive team.

Some of the greatest cycling champions in the world are on the official entry list, including: reigning Road World Champion, Rui Costa, the 2013 Giro d'Italia winner, Vincenzo Nibali, the British king of sprints Mark Cavendish, the young emerging rival Marcel Kittel and his German compatriot Tony Martin, Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara, the winner of the 2013 UCI World Tour ranking, Joaquin Rodriguez, the young Slovakian champion Peter Sagan, 2012 Giro champion, Ryder Hesjedal and American time trial specialist Taylor Phinney.

Today the organizers announced a list of its most important riders:
- LAMPRE – MERIDA: Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (POR), Filippo Pozzato (ITA)
- ASTANA PRO TEAM: Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), Janez Brajkovic (SLO)
- BANCO BIC – CARMIM: Manuel Antunes Amaro (POR), Henrique Casimiro (POR)
- BMC RACING TEAM: Thor Hushovd (NOR), Taylor Phinney (USA)
- CANNONDALE: Peter Sagan (SVK), Damiano Caruso (ITA)
- GARMIN SHARP: Ryder Hesjedal (CAN), Tyler Farrar (USA)
- MOVISTAR TEAM: Alex Dowsett (GBR), Adriano Malori (ITA)
- OMEGA PHARMA – QUICK-STEP: Mark Cavendish (GBR), Tony Martin (GER)
- RTS – SANTIC RACING TEAM: Simon Buttner (FRA), Alex Coutts (GBR)
- SKYDIVE DUBAI PRO CYCLING TEAM: Lucas Sebastian Haedo (ARG), Mohammed Al Murawwi (UAE)
- TEAM GIANT – SHIMANO: Marcel Kittel (GER), Cheng Ji (CHN)
- TEAM KATUSHA: Joaquin Oliver Rodriguez (SPA), Luca Paolini (ITA)
- TINKOFF SAXO: Oliver Zaugg (SUI), Matteo Tosatto (ITA)
- TREK FACTORY RACING: Fabian Cancellara (SUI), Fumiyuki Beppu (JPN)
- UAE NATIONAL TEAM: Majid Albalooshi (UAE), Mohammed Almansuory (UAE)
- VINI FANTINI – NIPPO – DE ROSA: Pier Paolo De Negri (ITA), Takashi Miyazawa (JPN)

The race is expected to generally suit the sprinters, with the opening day set to be decisive for the overall. The first stage – a 10km Individual Time Trial – will be held within the new city and named “The Down Town stage”. The second stage – 122km long – runs through the area with the most important sports building in Dubai, including the Hippodrome, the Olympic pool, the Al Qudra cycling path, the Autodrome and the amazing Golf Club. This will be called “The Sport Stage”.

The third stage, the longest of the race at 162km, will go outside the city and through the desert to finish in Hatta. This stage will be called “The Nature Stage”. The fourth and final stage – 124km in length – will cross the old part of the city, passing alongside two of the most iconic Dubai buildings: the Burj Al Arab and the Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the World at 830 metres high. This stage will be named “The Old Dubai Stage”.

The race will have extensive TV coverage. Dubai Sports will be the event’s Host Broadcaster and will broadcast all four stages live on Dubai Sports 1 and HD, along with analysis and updates in the news shows. Dubai Sports Channel will guarantee a wide exposure of the race not only in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates but also in all the Middle East and North Africa.

European and Asian coverage will be by Eurosport, that will cover the Dubai Tour live on its Pan- European and Asia Pacific network reaching more than 70 countries. In Italy the event will also be broadcasted by RAI on RAI Sport 2.

CyclingQuotes.com will have live coverage of all four stages of the event.