Power data reveals huge numbers put out by sprinters and climbers on Hatta Dam stage of UAE Tour

With ramps up to 17 per cent, it took some serious wattage to race up the final climb on stage two

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The Hatta Dam climb at the UAE Tour has become famed for some brutal and exciting finishes in recent years.

While the ramp may be only 200 metres long at the steepest point, the gradients hit a maximum of around 17 per cent, making it a daunting final to a stage.

In this year’s edition, Caleb Ewan made it two-in-a-row as he powered to victory and followed up on his win from 2019 on the Hatta Dam climb.

But Deceuninck – Quick-Step’s Sam Bennett proved himself a worthy challenger, launching his sprint early and almost holding off Ewan before he lost momentum after clipping the barrier at the side of the road.

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But how tough is the Hatta Dam ramp? We looked into the power data to find out.

Unfortunately, stage winner Lotto-Soudal Caleb Ewan doesn’t share his power data on Strava, but we can get a glimpse of Sam Bennett’s effort thanks to Velon, which publishes inside information about professional racing.

During his final 26-second sprint for the line, the Irishman held a staggering 1,060 watts, which is around 14 watts per kilo.

Bennett also hit a maximum power of 1,480w on his way to second place on the stage, with an average speed of 27.3km/h.

Jumbo-Visma’s Koen Bouwman has also uploaded his power data from the ride, which reveals he held 604 for the final 41 seconds over the stage, or around 10w/kg for his 60kg build, as he finished in 32nd place with the peloton.

The Strava rider with the fastest time up the climb on Monday (February 24) was Groupama-FDJ’s David Gaudu, with a time of 29 seconds for the final 180m. But unfortunately he doesn’t share his power data.

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Britain’s Charlie Quarterman is continuing his development with Trek-Segafredo in his debut WorldTour season.

He finished in 130th, 7-24 down on the stage winner, but he still had to average 471w for the final minute of his effort just to get up the climb.

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Alex Ballinger

Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers.  Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.