RCS hope that their emission of a time trial and inclusion of a tough stage in the Hatta Hills will make the Dubai Tour’s second edition more exciting than the first.

The race, which takes place between February 4-7, has been upgraded to 2.HC status, meaning 11 of the 16 teams will be from the WorldTour, with 128 riders taking part.

BMC rider Taylor Phinney won the TT ahead of teammate Stephen Cummings before sprinter Marcel Kittle won the three other stages as Phinney sealed GC.

Lorenzo Giorgetti is positive the 2015 edition of the race will be even more of a success than the inaugural one was.

"I'm convinced that the 2015 edition of the Dubai Tour will be far better than the first edition, for lots of different reasons," Giorgetti told Cyclingnews after the recent presentation of the tougher 2015 race route.

"One of the primary reasons is the teams have now raced in Dubai, seen the race and seen the safety and experienced the excellent logistics. The UCI has also raised the race ranking to 2.HC and that means we can have more and so better WorldTour teams in 2015 and in turn create more interest for the race. Several major teams who didn't ride in 2014 have already said they want to ride in 2015. Tour de France winner Vincenzo Nibali has confirmed that he will make his season debut with Astana at the Dubai Tour in 2015."

"There's no time trial or prologue in the 2015 Dubai Tour because we're hoping the race will be a lot closer and so much more competitive. We don't want the overall winner to be decided until the final stage. Riders have different levels of fitness and race programmes, so we've opted for a harder, more balanced route with longer stages. The hilly third stage to Hatta will be the key day of racing. It's got double the kilometres of climbing compared to the hilly stage in 2014 and there's the tough uphill finish to the dam wall. The finish might not suit the climbers or Grand Tour riders like Nibali but it seems perfect for the aggressive, explosive finishers like Peter Sagan and Joaquim Rodriguez."

The Dubai Tour has the Commerical Bank of Dubai as the sponsor of the leaders jersey in 2015 and there is other interet in the race from the UAE. Races outside of Europe are killing those in Europe according to many purist fans, but Giorgetti says that pro cycling is evolving and belongs outside of Europe too.

"I think it's right. Countries like the UAE and Dubai are proud to organise major events to attract tourism and business. They've got a clear strategy and a clear objective. Perhaps that's lacking in Europe," he said.

"Cycling gives massive amounts of visibility to sponsors and host nations but costs relatively little. Dubai has understood that, has grabbed the opportunity and is developing its races quickly. In Europe we've got the tradition and the history of the sport but always seem to struggle much more. It's a pity but its the reality of the current economic situation."

Giorgetti knows that RCS have had to cut races in recent years despite the success of events like Tirreno-Adratico, Strade Bianche and of course the Giro d’Italia. He knows RCS rely on the Dubai Tour now as well.

"It allows us to have an important international presence in the UAE. They host a lot of globally important sporting events and their companies also sponsor all over the world. The airlines Emirates and Etihad are just two examples that come to mind. RCS Sport hopes to organise lots of events and we hope to grow even more in the future."