Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing)
Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing)
Former world champion Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing) won his final race of last year at the Tour of Beijing and will hope to start the 2015 campaign in a similar vein of form.
Perfectly capable of using the crosswinds to his advantage on the flat stages, Gilbert should also find little to trouble him on Hatta Dam, with the Belgian the type of rider to relishing punchy finishes.
While the 17 per cent incline at the climb may suit the lighter riders, Gilbert is no mug when it comes to short, steep hills as he has repeatedly proved at the Ardennes Classics, with five victories across La Fleche Wallonne, Amstel Gold Race and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
Gilbert is fast on the flat, too, so with bonus seconds likely to be invaluable in deciding the overall winner of the race, he should feature high on the GS if he can snatch anything from the bunch gallops.
Brent Bookwalter, Marcus Burghardt and Daniel Oss provide experienced back-up as the team looks to follow Rohan Dennis’ Tour Down Under win with victory in Dubai.