The 2026 Tour de France has now well under way and UAE Team Emirates-XRG have quickly found themselves back in contention.
Two successive stage wins from Isaac del Toro and Tadej Pogacar sent an ominous early warning to rivals of the team's form and focus at the world's greatest cycling race.
Stage 2 saw the Emirati team secure a superb one-two with Del Toro claiming his debut victory ahead of an equally delighted Pogacar. “Also, to appreciate, Tadej – being the same team as him, the best team in the world is just really like full emotions,” said the Mexican.
“You cannot believe how it feels now for me, especially for my country, and everything that's going on is just insane, really. This is thanks to my teammates.”
Then on Stage 3, it was Slovenian superstar Pogacar's turn to taste victory as he powered away from rival Jonas Vingegaard to claim the leader's yellow jersey and his 22nd Tour stage win. “I'm really happy that we started the Tour like this,” said Pogacar, who is looking to win a record-equalling fifth Tour title.
“It's because of Isaac today I got some extra power in the final. He committed more than 100 per cent in the final climb.”
The team’s influence is also being felt far from the Tour’s mountain stages and finish lines.
In the UAE’s Year of the Family, a generation of Emirati youngsters are being inspired by the world’s No 1 cycling team – and by the ever-increasing opportunities to ride, race and discover cycling on UAE soil.
Yousif Mirza, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG sporting director who in 2017 became the first Emirati to race for a UCI WorldTeam, says that when he was a boy, cycling was “just a sport”.
“Now it’s a lifestyle,” Mirza says. “There are hundreds of people out every day at tracks like Al Qudra in Dubai and Hudayriyat in Abu Dhabi. It’s great to see young riders growing up inside that culture.”
Cycling has evolved from a niche sport into a platform for mobility, wellness and talent development. Abu Dhabi is expanding towards a 1,000km cycling network, including a planned 109km Abu Dhabi Loop linking key locations across the city.
While new infrastructure has laid the foundations, Mirza believes the next phase of cycling’s growth in the UAE depends on collaboration and structured pathways that help young riders progress.
He cites programmes such as Adnoc’s UAE Team Emirates-XRG Academy, which provides boys and girls aged 7–12 with structured training and early exposure to cycling, as playing a key role.
The academy has reached more than 15,000 children across 40 schools, broadening the base of young riders coming into the sport.
“Adnoc’s initiatives are very important,” Mirza says. “They don’t just organise events. They help find talent and build a professional environment with long-term planning.”
Race opportunities, he believes, are essential to that journey, making them a key part of his work with the UAE Cycling Federation.
“In the past six months, we’ve organised more than 50 races for kids,” says Yousif, who was born in 1988 in the coastal Sharjah town of Khor Fakkan.
“We now have over 180 registered youth riders, numbers we never saw before,” adds Yousif, who was introduced to cycling at the age of nine by his father. Another influence was his older brother and professional cyclist Badr Mirza.
One of the clearest examples of that pathway is Abdulla Jasim Al Ali, an emerging Emirati cycling star who was discovered through the Adnoc Accelerator Program following a competitive three-day trial in 2022.
In early April this year, Abdulla secured his fourth UAE national time-trial title, while in 2025 he stepped on to the European stage at the Vuelta Asturias, his second race start with UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
“He is a fighter,” says Mirza. “He’s focused, disciplined and listens. I saw his potential very early. For me, it’s only a matter of time before we see more of him in the UCI WorldTour.”
Such visibility, Mirza believes, is transformative for the next generation of Emirati riders.
“When I was young, I watched riders like Alberto Contador on TV and dreamt of being a professional,” says Yousif, who became the team’s sporting director in 2021. “Now kids here look at riders from the UAE like Abdulla and think, ‘I want to be like him’.”
He adds: “We’re not just a brand. We represent a country. When people see ‘UAE’ on the jersey, it means something.”
Led by riders such as Pogacar, UAE Team Emirates-XRG won four Tour de France titles over the past five years, becoming cycling's dominant team.
The co-title and official energy partner sponsorship role played since 2024 by XRG has provided a high-profile international platform for the growing investment company, while supporting healthier lifestyles across the UAE. XRG is Adnoc’s wholly-owned investment company.
A father himself, Mirza speaks passionately about cycling’s role beyond competition. He believes sport offers lessons that classrooms cannot always teach.
“It’s not about winning,” he says. “It’s about taking your kids out, riding together, creating memories.
“We talk to kids about eating well, sleeping properly, respecting others, setting goals. It’s education, just in a different way.”
Once the sole Emirati representative at the world’s biggest races, he’s now proudly watching as the peloton grows around him. Asked whether more Emiratis will reach the UCI WorldTour and the ‘A’ Team in UAE Team Emirates XRG Academy, Mirza does not hesitate.
“What started with one Emirati rider has opened the gate for many more,” he replies. “And that, for me, is the real victory.”
