Team Emirates name star-studded squad for World Tour season finale

With a wealth of talent making the trip to Asia, UAE Team Emirates-XRG has announced their squad for the Tour of Guangxi.

Beginning on Tuesday, the six-day stage race is the final World Tour event of the season, and will see the squad look to add to its historic win tally.

Beginning in Fangchenggang on Tuesday, the Tour of Guangxi is now in its sixth edition and will run until Sunday.

Raced in the Chinese province of Guangxi, the final World Tour stage race often sees sprinters get their opportunities before one big showdown amongst the climbers on the summit finish at Nongla Scenic Spot.

This year’s course is no different, but has enough lumps and bumps to entice the peloton into aggressive racing in a bid to upset the sprinters. As such, UAE Team Emirates-XRG has named a squad that is ready to race on the front foot.

Led by Sports Directors Simone Pedrazzini and Jan Polanc, the seven-man squad includes

Igor Arrieta, Jan Christen), Felix Großschartner, Julius Johansen, Jhonatan Narvaez, Ivo Oliveira and Rui Oliveira.

For all seven riders, the final race of the season presents an opportunity to go in search of success, and a mix of youth and experience should suit the Emirati squad well in China.

For Oliveira and Christen, a race debut at the Tour of Guangxi awaits, whilst for Jhonatana Narvaez, this will be the Ecuadorian’s fifth participation in China.

The 28-year-old won his very first race this season, the Tour Down Under, and nine months on he will bring his debut season with UAE Team Emirates-XRG to a close.

Narvaez will hope to follow in the footsteps of his fellow South Americans, Sebastian Molano and Fernando Gaviria, both of whom claimed stage wins at the Tour of Guangxi for the Emirati squad.

Großschartner is a rider who knows what it takes to be successful in this environment, having finished as the runner-up at the 2018 Tour of Guangxi. Meanwhile, Igor Arrieta, Julius Johansen and Ivo Oliveira will each add their strengths to the group.

Looking ahead to the sixth installment of the Tour of Guangxi, Narvaez set his sights on a strong end to the season for UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

Narvaez: “We’ve been here in China a few days now and are adjusting to the surroundings and doing some good training.

“It’s a nice race and there are a few hilly stages here which can suit me well, and some sprinting chances for the Oliveira brothers also.

“I’m really pleased with my first season at UAE and it has been a special one to be a part of. I hope we can finish the year on a high note here in Guangxi.”

UAE Team Emirates-XRG heads into the final World Tour race sitting comfortably at the top of the pile in the UCI World Team rankings, whilst the all-time record for wins in a season was passed by the team last month. The Emirati squad currently sits on 94 victories for the campaign, and this week will present the final opportunity to add to this history-making tally.

The Tour of Guangxi will begin on Tuesday with a nigh-on 150km-long course that begins and ends in Fangchenggang. Tougher tests will come for the peloton, but the opening day looks well set for a sprint finish from the peloton.

Raced from Chongzuo to Jingxi, stage 2 presents a more interesting affair, with a Category 2 climb topping out with 35km to ride. Standing at 3.7% for 8.4km, this climb is not the toughest of tests, but with the final 35km all gradually rising to the line, we could see more selective racing on Wednesday.

Stages 3 and 4 will certainly provide a sterner challenge for the pure sprinters in the bunch, with each featuring over 2,000m of elevation gain. With three categorised climbs on the route, stage 3 takes the peloton from Jingxi to Bama, before stage 4 runs from Bama to Jinchengjiang.

Despite not finishing with an uphill kick of any kind, stage 4 may well be the toughest of the race. With 2,676m of elevation gain, Friday’s stage is punctuated by a Category 2 ascent, which tops out with 35km to go. This climb stands at 5.6% for 4km, before an uncategorised climb stretches out for a kilometre at 6% some 11km from the finish.

Saturday will be the day that all the climbers have circled in their roadbooks, with a summit finish in store at the Nongla Scenic Spot. This climb, averaging 7% for 4.6km, routinely decides the overall winner of the Tour of Guangxi and has maximum slopes of 15%.