2025 Preview #26 – UAE Team Emirates-XRG

All images: Wikimedia Commons

2024, an historical season

Phenomenal. It is hard to find other words to describe the 2024 season of UAE Team Emirates-XRG. With a total of 81 wins throughout the year, Mauro Gianneti’s men realized one of the best seasons in the history of cycling. The main artisan of this incredible achievement is undeniably Tadej Pogačar. The Slovenian proved that he was the greatest in the world and maybe one of the greatest in history by winning almost every race in which he took the start. Indeed, he added a third Tour de France to his trophy cabinet only a few weeks after taking home his first Giro d’Italia, winning six stages on each. He also became World Champion for the first time in his career and honoured his new jersey by winning his fourth Il Lombardia in a row, after also raising his arms at Liège-Bastogne-Liège earlier in the season.

The successes of the Slovenian giant gave wings to all of the riders of the Emirati team. Indeed, Adam Yates triumphed at the Tour de Suisse while the young Juan Ayuso did the same on the steep roads of Itzulia Basque Country. The Swiss Marc Hirschi finished the season with nine wins, including two World Tour Classics – the Klasikoa and the Bretagne Classic. In the Flanders Classics, UAE Team Emirates-XRG also played primary roles, thanks to a great collective, managing to place three riders in the top 5 at the Ronde van Vlaanderen.

The team had 30 riders under contract in 2024 and 19 of them won at least one time during the season, including 10 of them at the World Tour level. UAE Team Emirates obviously finished first in the UCI classification and realised the amazing result of having 12 riders in the top 100 of the individual classification, making them the most represented team by far.

An interseason focused on the Classics

Given that the depth of UAE Team Emirates-XRG roster in the mountains, it is difficult for Mauro Giannetti and his staff to improve this part of the team. To strengthen the team during the winter, the Emirati team chose to turn to the Classics and especially the Flanders Classics, with the aim of making the squad even more complete.

First of all, two very strong Belgians signed with UAE Team Emirates-XRG for 2025. The first, Florian Vermeersch, only raised his arms once during his professional career, at the Antwerp Port Epic 2022. However, the rider of Ghent has proven his strength on the cobbles in the past, especially during Paris-Roubaix 2021 where he finished second, beaten only by Sonny Colbrelli. The Belgian will have at heart the aim of performing during the spring, as he missed last season’s Flanders campaign due to a crash in February. Vermeersch’s countryman Rune Herregodts has less experience than his new teammate on the cobbled races. However, he is a very complete rider that could be useful for UAE Team Emirates-XRG in different kind of races. Indeed, this excellent time-triallist also has some puncheur capabilities and could become a very important piece of the Emirati team’s plan in difficult races.

Alongside these two Belgians, Jhonathan Narvaez seems to be the main recruitment of UAE Team Emirates-XRG for 2025. Indeed, the Ecuadorian has already won three times so far this season, taking the queen stage of the Santos Tour Down Under along with the general classification and his national championship. The former double stage winner at the Giro will be one of the main cards for his new team throughout the Classics season, from Omloop to Liège-Bastogne-Liège. His capacities of puncheur will also be useful to Tadej Pogačar for the Tour de France, as the triple Ecuadorian champion should take part in the French Grand Tour for the first time in his career.

Outside of these already experienced riders, UAE Team Emirates-XRG also bet on a wonderkid for their 2025 transfer window. Indeed, after finishing second at the Tour de l’Avenir and winning two stages, the young Spaniard Pablo Torres has signed with Mauro Giannetti’s team for this season. At only 19 years old, the rider from San Sebastian de los Reyes has imposed himself as one of the best climbers on the U23 circuit last season, with stage wins at the Tour de l’Avenir but also at the Giro Ciclistico della Valle d’Aosta. It will be interesting to see how fast the young man will adapt to the World Tour level and if he can confirm his potential as soon as 2025. Finally, the Dane Julius Johansen returns to World Tour level after one year in a Conti team to complete the 2025 roster of UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

Tadej Pogačar, one of the greatest in history?

At 26 years old, Tadej Pogačar is the face of the international peloton, the most known cyclist on the planet. The achievements of the Slovenian in the past seasons and particularly in 2024 made him enter the legend of our sport, putting him amongst the greatest riders that cycling has known.

Last season was just incredible for Tadej Pogačar. The Slovenian managed to win on almost every race where he took the start, only missing out on victory at Milano-Sanremo and at the GP de Québec. Outside of these two races, the native of Klanec managed to achieve an amazing Giro-Tour de France double, a performance that had not been seen this century. In both of these Grand Tours, Pogačar brought home six stages, making his total on the French roads 17 in five participations. In one-day races, the number one in the UCI classification also shone, by raising his arms during two Monuments: Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Il Lombardia. Pogačar also became World Champion for the first time in 2024 after attacking 100km from the finish line, and he crushed the competition at races such as Strade Bianche and the Volta a Catalunya.

After his historical 2024, Tadej Pogačar has confirmed his status as the best rider in the World. His main aim for 2025 will be to continue writing his legend and further garnish the pages about him in the history books. The World Champion will begin his season at the UAE Tour, a very important race for his sponsor, before taking on the Classics campaign. One of the most important moments of Pogačar’s season will be Milano-Sanremo, one of the two Monuments still missing from his trophy cabinet. The Slovenian will also return to Flanders in 2025, in order to challenge the specialists Mathieu Van der Poel and Wout Van Aert. However, if the participation of the triple Tour de France winner at the Ronde is confirmed, Paris-Roubaix does not figure in his calendar despite a video on his socials that showed him on the Trouée d’Arenberg last week. After Flanders, Pogačar will take on the Ardennes before beginning his preparation for the Tour de France and maybe later for La Vuelta, the only Grand Tour that he still has not won.

The fight for leadership

If Tadej Pogačar is the undisputed leader of UAE Team Emirates-XRG, behind the Slovenian the number of extremely great climbers could cause tensions for the leader role on the races where the Slovenian is absent.

For UAE’s other climbers, the Giro is the race to go to in 2025 in order to have the chance to play for the general classification. Indeed, as the World Champion will be racing the Tour de France and probably the Vuelta, it is the perfect moment for his teammates to play for the win during a Grand Tour. On the Italian roads, Adam Yates could be the main man for the Emirati team. At 32 years old, the British rider triumphed at the Tour de Suisse last season, before finishing sixth at the Tour de France. The former winner of the Volta a Catalunya and UAE Tour will chase for his first Grand Tour trophy, but the competition could come from within his own formation. Indeed, at 22 years old, Juan Ayuso will follow the same objective as his teammate and is very ambitious. The Spaniard brought home his first ever general classification last season, from Itzulia Basque Country, only a few weeks before finishing second at Tirreno-Adriatico. The native of Barcelona’s first Giro could be his chance to prove himself as second in the hierarchy at UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

Outside of these two, João Almeida is also a rider who would be the main leader in almost every team of the World Tour. Indeed, even if the Portuguese has only triumphed at one World Tour stage race in his career – the 2021 Tour of Poland – he has proven his consistency in recent seasons with a podium at the Giro in 2023 and a fourth-place finish at the latest Tour de France. In 2025, the former winner of the Tour de Luxembourg will be Pogačar’s main lieutenant at the Tour de France and La Vuelta, with the possibility of taking on the leadership role in case of a problem for the Slovenian. In addition to these riders, the very young but talented Isaac Del Toro and Pablo Torres could also reveal themselves as leaders for the future. Indeed, if 2025 is the first season at the professional level for the Spaniard, his Mexican teammate already proved his abilities last year by finishing third at the Tour Down Under and fourth at Tirreno-Adriatico.

A solid Flanders squad

If the main strength of UAE Team Emirates-XRG is the mountains squad, the Emirati team still has a very good group of riders for the Flanders Classics, built of course around the super-human, Tadej Pogačar. Having the best rider in the world in your ranks can be very useful for a sports director, who does not have to ask himself questions about leadership. However, in races such as the Flanders Classics, having teammates around is crucial, even for a rider like Pogačar. Mauro Giannetti and his staff have built a very strong Flanders side over the past few years to accompany the World Champion.

One of the main men of this part of the squad for UAE Team Emirates-XRG is Nils Politt. At 30 years old, the rider of Koln has never won a cobbled classic but has been one of the most consistent in the past few years, as proven by his incredible 2024 campaign. Indeed, last season, the former BORA hansgrohe rider recorded a top four at Paris-Roubaix, one week after finishing on the third step of the podium at the Ronde van Vlaanderen. His experience, along with that of Tim Wellens - fourth at the E3 Classic in 2024 - will be a great help to their leader but also for their younger teammates.

Among these teammates, Antonio Morgado is maybe one of the most expected talents of 2025. After a first professional season where he managed to finish fifth at the Ronde van Vlaanderen, the Portuguese will surely be one of the attractions of the World Tour peloton in 2025. Finally, the new additions of UAE Team Emirates-XRG Jhonathan Narvaez and Florian Vermeersch will also strengthen the Flanders Classics squad, in order to lead Pogačar to success.

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