UAE Team Emirates XRG () is an Emirati

road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The ...

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...

. The team competes at

UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road bicycle racing, road cycling, the UCI World Tou ...

level and has done so since the

UCI World Tour The UCI WorldTour is the premier men's elite road cycling tour, sitting above the UCI ProSeries and various regional UCI Continental Circuits. It refers to both the tour of 38 events and, until 2019, an annual ranking system based upon perfor ...

was formed as the top category of road cycling in 2005. Since becoming UAE Team Emirates in 2018, the team has won the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

three times and the

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

once, with Slovenian rider

Tadej Pogačar Tadej Pogačar (; born 21 September 1998) is a Slovenia, Slovenian professional road bicycle racing, cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . His victories include three Tour de France, Tours de France (2020 Tour de France, 2020, 2021 Tou ...

. Pogačar has also won the

monuments A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia (), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five 'Cycling monument, Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cycli ...

(4 times),

Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège , also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five ''Cycling monument, Monuments'' of the Eur ...

(3 times) and

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders () may refer to the following cycle races: * Tour of Flanders (men's race) The Tour of Flanders (), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race held in Belgium every spri ...

(2 times) for the team.

History

The team was established in 2017 as

UAE Abu Dhabi UAE Team Emirates XRG () is an Emirati road bicycle racing cycling team, team. The team competes at UCI WorldTeam level and has done so since the UCI World Tour was formed as the top category of road cycling in 2005. Since becoming UAE Team Emi ...

before being renamed UAE Team Emirates in 2018. It is sponsored by the

UAE government Politics of the United Arab Emirates take place in a framework of a federal presidential elective constitutional monarchy (a federation of absolute monarchies). The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven constituent monarchies: t ...

and the team has achieved notable success in various prestigious races, including stage wins and overall victories in Grand Tours (the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, and Vuelta a España) and one-day races. The team was temporarily suspended from the ProTour in 2010, missing one ProTour event.

Transition from an Italian-based team

Chinese involvement

In August 2016 the team (then called Lampre-Merida) confirmed that its WorldTeam licence was being transferred from CGS Cycling to Chinese company TJ Sport Consultation, with the team becoming the first Chinese WorldTour team from 2017. Former team manager

Mauro Gianetti Mauro Gianetti (born 16 March 1964 in Lugano) is a Swiss former professional road cyclist and later directeur sportif. Gianetti was employed as team manager for the cycling team throughout its existence between 2004 and 2011. In 2016, Gianetti c ...

was announced as the co-ordinator for the project. In an interview with ''

La Gazzetta dello Sport (; English: "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any type in Italy (in 2018). History and profile was fou ...

'' the following month, Saronni confirmed that he and CGS Cycling would continue to manage the team on TJ Sport's behalf, and that the team's bicycles would be supplied by

Colnago Colnago Ernesto & C. S.r.l. or Colnago is a manufacturer of Road bicycle racing, road-racing Racing bicycle, bicycles founded by Ernesto Colnago near Milano in Cambiago, Italy. It remained a family-controlled firm until May 4, 2020, when it was a ...

. He indicated that the project was being co-ordinated by the Chinese government via TJ Sport with involvement from a number of Chinese companies including

Alibaba Ali Baba is a character from the folk tale "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves". Alibaba Group is a Chinese multinational internet technology company. Ali Baba or Alibaba may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Ali Baba and the Forty T ...

, and that its aim was to develop Chinese cycling and riders. When the

UCI UCI most commonly refers to: * University of California, Irvine, a public university in Irvine, California, United States * Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling UCI may also refer to: * Uganda Cancer In ...

awarded 17 WorldTour licences to teams in November, it announced that TJ Sport's application was "under review" by its Licensing Commission. According to Saronni, the reason for the delay was that the head of the TJ Sport project, Li Zhiqiang, had fallen seriously ill, which prevented funding for the project from being confirmed.

Emirati rescue

As a result, the team looked elsewhere for sponsorship, securing funding from the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

and changing its name to UAE

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

. The UCI confirmed the team's WorldTour licence on 20 December. In February 2017, the team announced that airline

Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective ...

had signed on with the team as a naming-rights sponsor. The team was subsequently known as UAE Team Emirates. In June 2017, two days before the

2017 Tour de France The 2017 Tour de France was the 104th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The 21-stage race took place across , commencing with an individual time trial in Düsseldorf, Germany on 1 July, and concluding with the Champs ...

the team announced it would also be sponsored by the

First Abu Dhabi Bank First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) () is the largest bank in the United Arab Emirates. It was formed following a merger between First Gulf Bank (FGB) and National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD). FAB offers financial solutions, products and services through ...

, an amalgamation of the

First Gulf Bank FGB (formerly known as First Gulf Bank) was the third largest bank by assets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), until it merged with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi in December 2016 to form First Abu Dhabi Bank, creating the largest bank by assets ...

and the

National Bank of Abu Dhabi National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) () was a bank operating in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) until it merged with the First Gulf Bank in December 2016 to form First Abu Dhabi Bank. NBAD was the largest lender bank in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and ...

, with their logo being added to the chest and side of the team's jersey.

Team roster

Major wins

Since becoming UAE Team Emirates in 2018, the team has won the

three times and the

once, with Slovenian rider

. Pogačar has also won the

(4 times),

(3 times) and

(2 times) for the team.

National, continental, and world champions

;1999 : Belgian Road Race,

Ludo Dierckxsens Ludo Dierckxsens (14 October 1964 – 29 May 2025) was a Belgian racing cyclist. He was best known for winning the 11th stage of the 1999 Tour de France, while competing for . Dierckxsens died during the 1000 km bike ride of Kom op tegen Kanker ...

;2000 : South African Time Trial, Robbie Hunter : MaillotLetonia

Latvian Time Trial,

Raivis Belohvoščiks Raivis Belohvoščiks (born 21 January 1976) is a Latvian former professional road cyclist who specialized in individual time trial events. He is ten-time Latvian national time trial champion. In 2006 he signed a 2-year contract with UCI ProTour t ...

;2001 :

Latvian Time Trial,

;2002 :

Latvian Time Trial,

Latvian Road Race,

;2005 :

Austrian Road Race,

Gerrit Glomser Gerrit Glomser (born 1 April 1975 in Salzburg) is an Austrian former racing cyclist, who currently works as a directeur sportif A ''directeur sportif'' (, ) is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event. It is seen a ...

;2006 : Italian Time Trial, Marzio Bruseghin ;2007 : MaillotEslovenia

Slovenian Road Race,

Tadej Valjavec Tadej Valjavec (born 13 April 1977 in Kranj) is a Slovenian former professional road bicycle racer, who last competed for the Sava team. He is well known as a good climber due to his rides on mountain stages in the Giro d'Italia. Although he has ...

;2008 :

World Road Race,

Alessandro Ballan Alessandro Ballan (born 6 November 1979) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer who most recently rode for UCI World Tour team . He is best known for winning the 2008 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, World Road Rac ...

;2011 :

Slovenian Road Race,

Grega Bole Grega Bole (born 13 August 1985 in Jesenice, Yugoslavia) is a Slovenian professional road bicycle racer, who most recently rode for UCI WorldTeam . His biggest victory is the 2011 GP Ouest–France, where he launched a solo attack with to go. H ...

Ukrainian Road Race, Oleksandr Kvachuk : MaillotUcrania

Ukrainian Time Trial, Oleksandr Kvachuk : Italian Time Trial,

Adriano Malori Adriano Malori (born 28 January 1988) is an Italian former road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2010 and 2017 for the and squads. During his professional career, Malori took fifteen victories, primarily in individual time trial ...

;2014 :

Portuguese Time Trial, Nelson Oliveira : MaillotPortugal

Portuguese Road Race, Nelson Oliveira ;2015 : MaillotPortugal

Portuguese Time Trial, Nelson Oliveira : Maillot ethiopia

Ethiopian Road Race,

Tsgabu Grmay Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay (; born 25 August 1991) is an Ethiopian retired professional road cyclist from Tigray, who last rode for UCI WorldTeam . He is a three time national road race champion, six time national time trial champion, and one time ...

Ethiopian Time Trial,

Portuguese Road Race,

Rui Costa Rui Manuel César Costa (; born 29 March 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who is the 34th president of sports club S.L. Benfica. He also succeeded Luís Filipe Vieira as president of the club's SAD board of directors. ...

Slovenian Road Race, Luka Pibernik : NC Taipei Taiwan

Taiwanese Road Race,

Feng Chun-kai Feng Chun-kai (; born November 2, 1988) is a Taiwanese professional road and track cyclist. He represented his nation Taiwan, as a 19-year-old, at the 2008 Summer Olympics and later won numerous medals in track cycling, specifically in the men's ...

Taiwanese Time Trial,

;2017 : UAE Time Trial, Yousif Mirza : UAE Road Race, Yousif Mirza : MaillotEslovenia

Slovenian Time Trial,

Jan Polanc Jan Polanc (born 6 May 1992) is a Slovenian former bicycle racing, racing cyclist, who competed professionally for UCI WorldTeam from 2013 to 2023. He is a two time Giro d'Italia stage winner. He was forced to retire in May 2023 after cardiac s ...

European Track (Individual pursuit),

Filippo Ganna Filippo Ganna (born 25 July 1996) is an Italian track and road cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He is a record-breaking six-time world champion in the individual pursuit, winning a total of nine medals at the UCI Track Cycling Wo ...

;2018 :

World Track (

Individual pursuit The individual pursuit is a track cycling event where two cyclists begin the race from a stationary position on opposite sides of the track. It is held at over for men and women. The riders start at the same time and set off to complete the rac ...

: UAE Time Trial, Yousif Mirza : UAE Road Race, Yousif Mirza : MaillotNoruega

Norwegian Road Race, Vegard Stake Laengen ;2019 : UAE Time Trial, Yousif Mirza : UAE Road Race, Yousif Mirza : MaillotEslovenia

Slovenian Time Trial,

;2020 :

Slovenian Time Trial,

Portuguese Time Trial,

Ivo Oliveira Ivo Emanuel Alves Oliveira (born 5 September 1996) is a Portuguese racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He competed in the points race at the 2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. His twin brother, Rui Oliveira, is also ...

Portuguese Road Race,

Norwegian Road Race,

Sven Erik Bystrøm Sven Erik Bystrøm (born 21 January 1992, in Haugesund) is a Norwegian road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He was the 2014 UCI Road World Championships – Men's under-23 road race, 2014 Under-23 World Road Race Champ ...

European Track (Individual pursuit),

;2021 :

African Time Trial, Ryan Gibbons : UAE Road Race, Yousif Mirza : UAE Time Trial, Yousif Mirza : African Continental Champion Jersey

African Road Race, Ryan Gibbons : South Africa Time Trial, Ryan Gibbons ;2022 : UAE Road Race, Yousif Mirza : UAE Time Trial, Yousif Mirza : MaillotSuiza

Swiss Time Trial, Joel Suter : MaillotPortugal

Portuguese Road Race, João Almeida ;2023 : MaillotAustralia

Australian Time Trial,

Jay Vine Jay Vine (born 16 November 1995) is an Australian professional racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career In December 2020, Vine was initially announced to be joining UCI Continental team for the 2021 season. However, as a ...

Slovenian Time Trial,

Slovenian Road Race,

American Time Trial,

Brandon McNulty Brandon Alexander McNulty (born April 2, 1998) is an American cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . In the 2016 UCI Road World Championships – Men's junior time trial, 2016 UCI Junior World Time Trial Championships McNulty became the fourth Ame ...

Portuguese Time Trial, João Almeida : MaillotSuiza

Swiss Road Race,

Marc Hirschi Marc Hirschi (born 24 August 1998) is a Swiss cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . Hirschi is known for his skills as a puncheur and one-day specialist, with wins in the hilly classics Clásica de San Sebastián and La Flèche Wallonne. ...

;2024 :

World Road Race Championships,

American Time Trial,

Austrian Time Trial, Felix Großschartner : Belgian Time Trial,

Tim Wellens Tim Wellens (born 10 May 1991) is a Belgium, Belgian professional road bicycle racing, road cyclist, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Since turning professional in 2012, and coming from a family of professional cyclists, Wellens has taken almost for ...

German Time Trial,

Nils Politt Nils Politt (born 6 March 1994) is a German cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Team Katusha (2016–2020) In September 2015 announced that Politt had signed a two-year contract with the team from 2016, and that he would m ...

Portuguese Time Trial,

António Morgado António Morgado (born 28 January 2004) is a Portuguese road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career At the 2022 UCI Road World Championships held in Wollongong, Australia, Morgado won a silver medal in the men's junior road rac ...

Slovenian Road Race, Domen Novak ;2025 : Ecuador_NC

Ecuador Road Race,

Jhonatan Narváez Jhonatan Manuel Narváez Prado (born 4 March 1997) is an Ecuadorian professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Early career Originally from El Playón de San Francisco, situated at an altitude of 2,990 me ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:UAE Team Emirates UCI WorldTeams Cycling teams based in Italy Cycling teams based in the United Arab Emirates Cycling teams established in 1991 1991 establishments in Italy Cycling teams established in 2017 2017 establishments in the United Arab Emirates