At the UCI 2016 UCI Cycling Gala held at Abu Dhabi, UCI rewarded season’s best road cyclists. The gala celebrated this year’s greatest achievements in professional road cycling.
24 Awards were given including the newly-crowned Elite UCI Road World Champions Amalie Dideriksen and Peter Sagan, an event which recognized stand-out riders, teams and nations from the UCI WorldTour, the UCI Women’s WorldTour, the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the UCI Road World Championships.
The second edition of the UCI Cycling Gala which was organised by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and the United Arab Emirates Cycling Federation, in collaboration with RCS Sport took place two days prior to the Abu Dhabi Tour (October 20-23, 2016), a 4-stage professional race which will join the UCI WorldTour 2017.
Speaking about the importance of recognising the super performers, UCI President Brian Cookson said, “It has been a standout professional road season for both men and women, not least with the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games and the inaugural edition of the UCI Women’s WorldTour. The UCI Cycling Gala gives us the opportunity to celebrate the magnificent performances from what has been a memorable season. The festivities take place at an ideal moment in the season, just days after the UCI Road World Championships in Doha, Qatar, which hosted the discipline’s first Worlds in the Middle East, and on the eve of the Abu Dhabi Tour.”
Speaking about the event of recognition, Mr. Aref Al Awani, Abu Dhabi Sports Council’s General Secretary, the organisers of the event, said, “We were honoured to host the UCI Cycling Gala once again and pay tribute to the incredible performances of male and female road cyclists. It was a fantastic celebration of this year’s road cycling season. With three major cycling events in the same week in the Middle East, we are very much looking forward to Abu Dhabi being in the global cycling and sporting spotlight.”
SN | Athlete/Team | Award/Recognition |
1 | Peter Sagan (SVK – Tinkoff) | UCI WorldTour Individual Classification |
2 | Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (COL – Movistar Team) | 2nd in the UCI WorldTour Individual Classification |
3 | Christopher Froome (GBR – Team Sky) | 3rd in the UCI WorldTour Individual Classification |
4 | Movistar Team | UCI WorldTour Team Classification |
5 | Spain | UCI WorldTour Classification by Nation |
6 | Megan Guarnier (USA – Boels Dolmans Cycling Team | UCI Women’s WorldTour Individual Classificatio |
7 | Leah Kirchmann (CAN – Team Liv-Plantur) | 2nd in the UCI Women’s WorldTour Individual Classification |
8 | Elizabeth Deignan (GBR – Boels Dolmans Cycling Team) | 3rd in the UCI Women’s WorldTour Individual Classification |
9 | Boels Dolmans Cycling Team | UCI Women’s WorldTour Team Classification |
10 | Katarzyna Niewiadoma (POL – Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team) | UCI Women’s WorldTour Young Rider Classification |
11 | Peter Sagan (SVK) | Men Elite UCI Road Race World Champion |
12 | Amalie Dideriksen (DEN) | Women Elite UCI Road Race World Champion |
13 | Tony Martin (GER) | Men Elite UCI Individual Time Trial World Champion |
14 | Amber Neben (USA) | Women Elite UCI Individual Time Trial World Champion |
15 | Etixx – Quick Step | Men Elite UCI Team Time Trial World Champions |
16 | Boels Dolmans Cycling Team | Women Elite UCI Team Time Trial World Champions |
17 | Greg Van Avermaet (BEL) | Rio 2016 Olympic Champion in the Men’s Road Race |
18 | Anna van der Breggen (NED) | Rio 2016 Olympic Champion in the Women’s Road Race |
19 | Fabian Cancellara (SUI) | Rio 2016 Olympic Champion in the Men’s Time Trial |
20 | Kristin Armstrong (USA) | Rio 2016 Olympic Champion in the Women’s Time Trial |
21 | Vincent ter Schure and Timo Fransen (NED) | Rio 2016 Paralympic Champions in the Men’s B Road Race |
22 | Sarah Storey (GBR) | Rio 2016 Paralympic Champion in the Women’s C5 Time Trial and C4-5 Road Race |
23 | Carol Cooke (CAN) | Rio 2016 Paralympic Champion in the Women’s T1-2 Time Trial and Road Race |
24 | Alessandro Zanardi (ITA) | Rio 2016 Paralympic Champion in the Men’s H5 Time Trial and Mixed Team Relay H2-5 |