The race was won on the final day by the Movistar Team's Alejandro Valverde, from Spain, winning the stage finish up to Jebel Hafeet.[4] Valverde finished 17 seconds clear of Dutch rider Wilco Kelderman from Team Sunweb, while the podium was completed by Colombia's Miguel Ángel López (Astana), a further 12 seconds in arrears.[1] The performance by López was also enough for him to win the young rider classification.[1]
In the race's other classifications, Italy's Elia Viviani – riding for Quick-Step Floors – was the winner of the green jersey for the points classification,[1] winning the second stage during the race, while Gazprom–RusVelo's Nikolay Trusov from Russia won the intermediate sprints classification and its accompanying black jersey,[1] having led the standings from start to finish. The teams classification was won by Bora–Hansgrohe, having placed Rafał Majka, Davide Formolo and Emanuel Buchmann within the top-ten placings overall.[1]
As the race was only added to the UCI World Tour calendar in 2017, all UCI WorldTeams were invited to the race, but not obligated to compete in the race. As such, seventeen of the eighteen WorldTeams – with the exception of FDJ – competed in the race,[5] up one on 2017. Three UCI Professional Continental teams competed as well, completing the 20-team peloton.[6]
The route for the 2018 edition of the race was released on 23 January 2018.[5] The race was extended from four stages to five,[5][7] with the addition of an individual time trial for the first time; as well as this, the summit finish of Jebel Hafeet ends the race instead of a circuit race at the Yas Marina motor racing circuit.
In the 2018 Abu Dhabi Tour, four different jerseys were awarded. For the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, and allowing time bonuses for the first three finishers at intermediate sprints and at the finish of mass-start stages, the leader received a red jersey.[5] This classification was considered the most important of the 2018 Abu Dhabi Tour, and the winner of the classification was considered the winner of the race.
Additionally, there was a points classification, which awarded a green jersey.[5] In the points classification, cyclists received points for finishing in the top 10 in a stage. For winning a stage, a rider earned 20 points, with 16 for second, 12 for third, 9 for fourth, 7 for fifth, 5 for sixth with a point fewer per place down to a single point for 10th place. Points towards the classification could also be accrued – on an 8–5–3–1 basis – at intermediate sprint points during each stage, with the exception of the individual time trial; these intermediate sprints also offered bonus seconds towards the general classification. There was also a sprints classification for the points awarded at the aforementioned intermediate sprints, where the leadership of which was marked by a black jersey.[5]
The fourth jersey represented the young rider classification, marked by a white jersey.[5] This was decided in the same way as the general classification, but only riders born after 1 January 1993 were eligible to be ranked in the classification.[5] There was also a classification for teams, in which the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added together; the leading team at the end of the race was the team with the lowest total time.
Alexander Kristoff (NOR)
Elia Viviani (ITA)
Phil Bauhaus (GER)
Rohan Dennis (AUS)
Alejandro Valverde (ESP)
