Simon Yates and Dylan Groenewegen share leadership duties for Team Jayco AlUla at upcoming AlUla Tour

Fresh off the back of a 'home race' at the Tour Down Under, Team Jayco AlUla head to Saudi Arabia for the AlUla Tour and another race where they can count on the support of the locals.

“We’re going to AlUla with a really strong team, we have Simon Yates for the GC and it will be important for him not to lose time on the early stages," says Team Jayco AlUla's sports director, Tristan Hoffman. "Stage five there is a serious climb, from the top of the climb there is still 7km to go but the goal will be for Simon to try and decide the GC there."

It's not just with GC aims that the team will start the race however. Alongside Yates, Dylan Groenewegen will also share the leadership role. "Then we also have Dylan for the sprints, stages one and three are quite flat and stage four there is also an opportunity for him, last year he was close there, so he has three opportunities," Hoffman adds.

"The other guys will support Dylan and Simon, and we have seen in the past there could be some crosswinds so we will need to be focussed during the stages. We will also have to take some responsibility because we have a strong team, but we need to race smart and use our energy in the right way.”

Team Jayco AlUla for the AlUla Tour: