Desert kingdom

The former leadership of the UCI was criticised for pursuing a policy of global expansion while the venerable races of cycling’s European heartland fell by the wayside, dying from a lack of funding and what was perceived in some quarters as inflexible scheduling by the sport’s governing body. The successful addition of the Dubai Tour to a programme of early-season, Middle Eastern races shines the light of reality into a complex area.

The UCI’s primary function is to sanction races; the role of promoters is to organise them, and to attract teams to compete. RCS Sport, the Italian media giant that numbers the Giro d’Italia and Giro di Lombardia among its cycling portfolio, has crashed a party previously monopoloised by its French rivals, the ASO, who as well as staging Paris-Nice, Paris-Roubaix, and the Tour de France, among many other elite races, also owns the Tours of Qatar and Oman.

While few cycling fans, this correspondent included, would wish to see the UCI focus on establishing races in new territories instead of safeguarding the historic European events, the sad truth is that cycling, like all professional sport, is driven largely by financial concerns. A sport unable to charge its spectators an entry fee is always likely to be in a parlous financial state compared to those held in stadia, and if the ASO and RCS can pitch big league racing to oil rich Gulf states, good luck to them.

The UCI WorldTour calendar has a six-week gap between the season opening Tour Down Under and its second event, Paris-Nice. For the cycling fan, starved of action since October, this an unsatisfactory state of affairs. The Tours of Dubai, Qatar, and Oman, provide an enjoyable stop gap before the European season begins in earnest.