October 19, 2016 (Abu Dhabi) – The second UCI Cycling Gala, took place in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 18 and 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. Among the honoured guests was Canadian Leah Kirchmann, who finished second overall in the UCI Women’s WorldTour.

For its second edition, the UCI Cycling Gala – organized by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and the United Arab Emirates Cycling Federation, in collaboration with RCS Sport – returned to the capital of the United Arab Emirates. It took place two days before the Abu Dhabi Tour (October 20-23), the four-stage professional cycling race that will join the UCI WorldTour in 2017.

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.”

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 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.”

#UCICyclingGala #RideToAbuDhabi

List of 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 UCI Women’s WorldTour Individual Classification – Megan Guarnier (USA – Boels Dolmans Cycling Team)
– 2nd UCI Women’s WorldTour Individual Classification – Leah Kirchmann (CAN – Team Liv- Plantur)
– 3rd UCI Women’s WorldTour Individual Classification – Elizabeth Deignan (GBR – Boels Dolmans Cycling Team)
– Winner UCI Women’s WorldTour Team Classification – Boels Dolmans Cycling Team
– Winner UCI Women’s WorldTour Young Rider Classification – Katarzyna Niewiadoma (POL – Rabo Liv Women)

– 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 (AUS)
– Rio 2016 Paralympic Champion Men’s H5 Time Trial/Mixed Team Relay H2-5 – Alessandro Zanardi (ITA).