The organisers of the inaugural UAE Tour have unveiled more details about the cycling race, including the design of its logo and trophy.

The UAE Tour is a new event for 2019, formed out of the merger of the Abu Dhabi and Dubai Tours.

The combined event will be the third race of the 2019 UCI World Tour, taking place between February 24 and March 2, 2019.

The trophy and logo of the new event are both heptagonal to reflect the race’s route through all seven emirates.

H.E. Aref Al Awani, the general secretary of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, said: “The logo represents well the unity between the seven Emirates and the Trophy is reminiscent of the same concept.

“The new race is a big opportunity for cycling here, we know it and we’re working to be ready to be under the world’s spotlights at the end of February.”

The logo features the black, red and green of the UAE flag, with a stylised black and beige cyclist riding a bike at the top of the heptagon.

The 5.5kg, 24kt gold plated trophy has been designed by GDE Bertoni, the same company responsible for producing the FIFA World Cup trophy.

The names of the nine winners of the Dubai and Abu Dhabi tours are inscribed on the reverse of the trophy.

The Dubai Tour began in 2014 and the Abu Dhabi Tour started the following year, becoming part of the UCI World Tour in 2017. Both events have been held in February for the past two years.

Alongside the new logo and trophy, UAE Tour organisers also revealed accompanying events to the Tour itself.

The amateur Abu Dhabi Challenge will now become the UAE Tour Challenge and will include events in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Amateur cyclists will be able to race across four locations, with more details due to be announced over the next few weeks.

A new UAE Tour Educational Project has also been announced. This is effectively an expansion of a project that has seen 4,000 children from Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra learn about cycling and road safety over the past three years.

The new project will extend the hour-long workshops to other schools across the UAE.

Saeed Hareb, the general secretary of Dubai Sports Council, said:

“Sharing the know-how, the resources and the effort with the other Emirates is very important to build up the race and to have new targets.

“We always talk about discovering the territory with the riders but it’s just part of the big picture that includes activities such as the educational program or the Challenge, which are now available to even more students and fans.”

Details of the UAE Tour route itself are due to be announced in December, but the seven-stage race will begin in Abu Dhabi and finish in Dubai. The 2020 edition of the Tour will follow the reverse route.

The route will include two mountain stages, a coast-to-coast stage and a team time trial.