Adam Yates is hoping he can turn around a tough start on Sunday's final stage of the UAE Tour at Jabel Hafit, where he completely dominated the UAE in 2020.

In 2020, Yates took the lead on the first climb of Jabel Hafit by more than a minute over future UAE teammate Tadei Pogachar.

The race was then suspended due to COVID-19, but Yates' dominance in the mountains was already unquestionable.

Despite losing time in the opening crosswind stage, Yates, who is currently in 10th place overall after finishing stage 6 in 68th place, remains a distant but clear threat on GC. In fact, race leader Remco Evenpole (Soudal-Quick Step) told reporters earlier this week that the possibility of a major attack by Yates at the 10km Jebel Hafeet cannot be ruled out.

The Briton was in a quietly defiant mood before the start of stage 6, saying he would push for the best possible result.

"Jebel Jais is a steady, regular climb, but Jebel Hafeet is a very different climb, at 8 percent for 10 kilometers.

"It's suited me in the past; I'm a little behind in GC, but I have nothing to lose.

Yates, who took part in the first event of 2023, has a better understanding of his race conditions and said, "I'm in good shape, I've been doing well in the past, I'm just not sure how I'm going to do. It's never easy, but somehow I always manage to come here and at least I can fight and be in contention"

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"There are not many stages that suit me in this race. Jebel Jais is not a perfect climb for me, but even there I was second (behind Evenpoel) in the sprint the other day. I have another chance tomorrow.

Yates reacted cautiously to Evenpoel's comment that Yates could lead the race by 1:14, but did not seem to rule anything out.

"Like I said, I have nothing to lose, the team is motivated, and like I said from the beginning, I'm here to win," Yates concluded.

"We lost a little bit of time in the first stage, a little bit of time here and there. But in the end I have nothing to lose and I will try."

UAE Team Emirates, which won its "home" races in 2021 and 2022 with Tadej Pogachar, who chose to race in Andalusia instead of the Middle East this past February, has a great group sprint in Dubai Bay on stage 4 with Juan Sebastian Morano victory and has already restored morale.

And even if the overall win seems unlikely, fighting for a second win on the race's iconic climb would certainly be a great way for the home team to close out the race, whether they choose Yates, Brandon McNulty, or another option.