UAE Team Emirates () 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 sport, professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and ...

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

. 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 cycling, the UCI World Tour or UCI ProTour ...

level and has done so since the

UCI World Tour The UCI WorldTour (2009–2010: ''UCI World Ranking'') 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 ...

was formed as the top category of road cycling in 2005. However 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-Mérida) 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 was announced as the co-ordinator for the project. In an interview with ''

La Gazzetta dello Sport ''La Gazzetta dello Sport'' (; "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any kind in Italy (in 2018). History and profile ''La ...

'' 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 high quality road-racing bicycles founded by Ernesto Colnago near Milano in Cambiago, Italy. It remained a family-controlled firm until May 4, 2020, when it was announced that the UAE- ...

. 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 (character), Ali Baba is a character from the folk tale ''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves''. Ali Baba or Alibaba may also refer to: Films * Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1902 film), ''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'' (1902 film), a F ...

, and that its aim was to develop Chinese cycling and riders. However, when the UCI 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; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

and changing its name to UAE Abu Dhabi. 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, a Middle Eastern country * Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir ** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf ** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates * The Emirat ...

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 Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. The 21-race stage, stage race took place across , commencing with an individual time trial in Düsseldorf, Germany on 1 July ...

the team announced it would also be sponsored by the

First Abu Dhabi Bank First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) ( ar, بنك أبوظبي الأول) 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 solutio ...

, 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 asse ...

and the

National Bank of Abu Dhabi National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) ( ar, بنك أبوظبي الوطني) 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 b ...

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

Team roster

Major wins

National, continental, and world champions

;1999 :

Belgian Road Race,

Ludo Dierckxsens Ludo Dierckxsens (born 14 October 1964 in Geel, Flanders) is a former Belgian racing cyclist. He is best known for winning the 11th stage of the 1999 Tour de France, while competing for . 1999 Tour de France Ludo Dierckxsens won the 11th stag ...

;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 ...

;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 for UCI Continental team . He turned professional in 1998, and won the Austrian National Road Race Championships in 2 ...

;2006 :

Italian Time Trial,

Marzio Bruseghin Marzio Bruseghin (born 15 June 1974 in Conegliano, Treviso) is an Italian retired professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 1997 and 2012. His best achievement was winning the 2006 Italian time-trial championship, as ...

;2007 :

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 h ...

;2008 :

World Road Race,

Alessandro Ballan Alessandro Ballan (born 6 November 1979 in Castelfranco Veneto, Veneto) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer who most recently rode for UCI World Tour team . He is best known for winning the World Road Race Championships, in ...

;2011 :

Slovenian Road Race,

Grega Bole Grega Bole (born 13 August 1985 in Jesenice, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, 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 ...

Ukrainian Road Race, Oleksandr Kvachuk : MaillotUcrania

Ukrainian Time Trial, Oleksandr Kvachuk : Jersey italianflag

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. Career Malori was the ''lanterne rouge'' of the 2010 Tour de France, finishing almost four and a ...

;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 : Maillot ethiopia

Ethiopian Time Trial, Tsgabu Grmay : MaillotPortugal

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, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He represented his nation Taiwan, as a 19-year-old, at the 2008 Summer Olympics and later won numerous medals in t ...

Taiwanese Time Trial,

;2017 :

UAE Time Trial,

Yousif Mirza Yousif Mohamed Ahmed Mirza Al-Hammadi ( ar, يوسف محمد احمد ميرزا الحمادي) (born 8 October 1988) is an Emirati former racing cyclist, who competed as a professional for UCI WorldTeam from 2017 to 2022. Mirza has won multip ...

UAE Road Race,

Slovenian Time Trial, Jan Polanc : European champion jersey 2016

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 five-time world champion in the individual pursuit, and has won a total of eight medals at the UCI Track Cycling World Champio ...

;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 for women. The riders start at the same time and set off to complete the ...

UAE Time Trial,

UAE Road Race,

Norwegian Road Race, Vegard Stake Laengen ;2019 : UAE NC

UAE Time Trial,

UAE Road Race,

Slovenian Time Trial,

Tadej Pogačar Tadej Pogačar (; born 21 September 1998) is a Slovenian cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He won the 2020 and 2021 editions of the Tour de France, winning three different jerseys during each Tour, a feat unseen in nearly four deca ...

;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 als ...

Portuguese Road Race,

Norwegian Road Race, Sven Erik Bystrøm : European champion jersey 2016

European Track (Individual pursuit),

;2021 :

African Time Trial, Ryan Gibbons : UAE NC

UAE Road Race,

UAE Time Trial,

African Road Race, Ryan Gibbons : MaillotSudáfrica

South Africa Time Trial, Ryan Gibbons ;2022 : UAE NC

UAE Road Race,

UAE Time Trial,

Swiss Time Trial,

Joel Suter Joel Suter (born 7 July 1998) is a Swiss cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . At the 2020 Tour du Limousin, he took the lead after finishing second to Fernando Gaviria on stage 2, but lost it the following day. However, he had another p ...

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