The second UCI Cycling Gala, which took place on Tuesday evening in Abu Dhabi, celebrated this year’s greatest achievements in professional road cycling.
The newly-crowned Elite UCI Road World Champions Amalie Dideriksen and Peter Sagan were among 24 award winners that included stand-out riders, teams and nations from the UCI WorldTour, the UCI Women's WorldTour, the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, and the UCI Road World Championships.
For its second edition, the UCI Cycling Gala returned to the capital of the United Arab Emirates and was again hosted by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and the United Arab Emirates Cycling Federation, in collaboration with RCS Sport. It took place two days before the Emirates’ four-stage professional cycling race, the Abu Dhabi Tour (20-23 October).
ABU DHABI TOUR TEAM PRESENTATION
Alongside the event, the teams participating at the Abu Dhabi Tour, starting on Thursday 20 and finishing on Sunday 23 October, have been presented on stage.
Along with the headline awards to this year’s UCI World Champions and WorldTour victors, it was one of the Olympians who received another special award at the UCI Cycling Gala this evening: Elia Viviani. “The Winning Spirit” is a unique Abu Dhabi Sports Council award for the rider who showed tenacity, strength and indomitable spirit in achieving victory this year. The Italian, who missed the Omnium podium in the London 2012 Olympic Games after leading for so long, waited four years for his sporting revenge and, even overcoming a crash in the last of the Omnium's events, finally won the Olympic gold medal in Rio this year.
His Excellency Aref Al Awani, Abu Dhabi Sports Council’s General Secretary said: “We were honoured to host the UCI Cycling Gala once again and pay tribute to some incredible performances by 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.”
UCI President Brian Cookson said: “It has been a standout professional road season for both men and women, not least on the back of the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games and the inaugural UCI WorldTour for Women. The UCI Cycling Gala gives us the opportunity to celebrate some of the phenomenal performances from what has been a memorable season. The timing of this celebration could not be better, coming just days after the UCI Road World Championships in Doha, Qatar, a first in the Middle East, and on the eve of the Abu Dhabi Tour.”
LIST OF UCI GALA AWARDS
- Winner of the UCI WorldTour Individual Classification – Peter Sagan (SVK – Tinkoff)
- 2nd in the UCI WorldTour Individual Classification – Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (COL – Movistar Team)
- 3rd in the UCI WorldTour Individual Classification – Christopher Froome (GBR – Team Sky)
- Winner of the UCI WorldTour Team Classification – Movistar Team
- Winner of the UCI WorldTour Classification by Nation – Spain
- Winner of the UCI Women's WorldTour Individual Classification – Megan Guarnier (USA – Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team)
- 2nd in the UCI Women's WorldTour Individual Classification – Leah Kirchmann (CAN – Team Liv-Plantur)
- 3rd in the UCI Women's WorldTour Individual Classification – Elizabeth Deignan (GBR – Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team)
- Winner of the UCI Women's WorldTour Team Classification – Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team
- Winner of the UCI Women's WorldTour Young Rider Classification – Katarzyna Niewiadoma (POL – Rabo–Liv Women Cycling Team)
- Men Elite UCI Road Race World Champion – Peter Sagan (SVK)
- Women Elite UCI Road Race World Champion – Amalie Dideriksen (DEN)
- Men Elite UCI Individual Time Trial World Champion – Tony Martin (GER)
- Women Elite UCI Individual Time Trial World Champion – Amber Neben (USA)
- Men Elite UCI Team Time Trial World Champions – Etixx – Quick Step
- Women Elite UCI Team Time Trial World Champions – Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team
- Rio 2016 Olympic Champion in the Men’s Road Race – Greg Van Avermaet (BEL)
- Rio 2016 Olympic Champion in the Women’s Road Race – Anna van der Breggen (NED)
- Rio 2016 Olympic Champion in the Men’s Time Trial – Fabian Cancellara (SUI)
- Rio 2016 Olympic Champion in the Women’s Time Trial – Kristin Armstrong (USA)
- Rio 2016 Paralympic Champions in the Men’s B Road Race – Vincent ter Schure and Timo Fransen (NED)
- Rio 2016 Paralympic Champion in the Women’s C5 Time Trial and C4-5 Road Race – Sarah Storey (GBR)
- Rio 2016 Paralympic Champion in the Women’s T1-2 Time Trial and Road Race – Carol Cooke (CAN)
- Rio 2016 Paralympic Champion in the Men's H5 Time Trial and Mixed Team Relay H2-5 – Alessandro Zanardi (ITA)