The UAE Team Emirates’ historic season showed that they are more than just “Team Pogacar.”

Before this year, in 2023, UAE Team Emirates had already had a great season, with 57 wins and two Monument wins. With 81 wins, this year was even better than last. It will be hard to beat this year. Of course, Tadej Pogacar was the team’s best player, but this group is made up of a lot more than just its Slovenian captain. IDLProCycling.com gives an honest review of UAE Team Emirates’ great season and looks ahead to what’s to come.

In 2024, there will be one-day races.

As you might expect, we can’t talk about UAE Team Emirates without also talking a lot about Pogacar. First, though, let’s take a look at the other riders on the team. Besides Pogacar, the team had a really strong group of classics. As an example, Marc Hirschi may have had his best season ever, and it was definitely his best year with this team. Hirschi had an amazing season. He won nine races, including seven one-day races. One of the best things that happened to the Swiss rider was that he won the Clásica San Sebastián.

UAE Team Emirates isn’t usually known for doing well in the cobbled classics. But in races like the Tour of Flanders this year, they made their mark, with four riders in the top twelve and three in the top five. After finishing third in Flanders, Nils Politt went on to finish fourth in Paris-Roubaix. António Morgado made waves in Flanders, and Filippo Baroncini won the SUPER 8 Classic.

Then there’s Pogacar. How do we even begin? He won the Strade Bianche, the GP Montréal, and the Giro dell’Emilia, which are all important races. The Slovenian wiped out the other players with solo charges that had never been seen before. He tried hard to win every race he did. As far as UAE Team Emirates’ one-day season goes, Pogacar’s World Championship win in Zürich, where he won by himself after a 100-kilometer attack, was the high point. In short, UAE Team Emirates did amazing in one-day races—they were better than ever.

(Grand) tours 2024: UAE Team Emirates

It is an amazing accomplishment to win two of the three Grand Tours in the same season. However, Pogacar did not only win; he overwhelmed. The pink jacket was hiss to keep throughout the Giro d’Italia. He finished almost ten minutes ahead of the runner-up in the Italian race, having won six stages. Also, the whole team should be praised. At the beginning of the Giro, UAE Team Emirates was seen as a B-team with a great boss. However, Domen Novak (also from Slovenia) and Rafal Majka (a seasoned veteran) were especially strong and stayed in charge the whole race.

Pogacar also did very well in the Tour de France, showing that the team was just getting started. With a nine-minute lead over Remco Evenepoel, he crossed the line in Nice more than six minutes ahead of Jonas Vingegaard. He won six stages. UAE had three riders in the top ten, with João Almeida coming in fourth and Adam Yates sixth. It’s crazy to think that Juan Ayuso’s injury during the race stopped them from doing even better. Without a doubt, the team won the Tour from beginning to end.

The Vuelta a España wasn’t as good as the Giro and the Tour. The leaders, Yates and Almeida, didn’t make it. Almeida, a Portuguese rider, dropped out early because of a positive COVID-19 test, and Yates, a British star, ended in 12th place. Yates did win a stage, though, as did partners Brandon McNulty (in the opening time trial) and Marc Soler (in stage 16). Pavel Sivakov had a good race and came in ninth overall. A good Vuelta, in short. Emirates Team UAE won the Renewi Tour, the Tour of Switzerland, and the Volta a Catalunya, as well as the grand tours. And those are just the WorldTour wins.

Score at the end: 2024 UAE Team Emirates

There is a lot of truth to the claim that UAE Team Emirates’ 2024 season will be the best in cycling history. Our editing board agrees with you 100%. There have been 81 wins, 41 of which were at the WorldTour level, two trophies, two grand tours, a world championship, and a huge 81 wins… Without a doubt, an unmatched effort. We gave it 9.8 out of 10 stars. It’s almost impossible to get a perfect 10, but if things keep going the same way next year…

Moves 2024–2025: UAE Team Emirates

There is a lot of competition within UAE Team Emirates, which has caused some big exits. The most well-known player to leave is Marc Hirschi, who signed with Tudor Pro Cycling. Since 2010, Diego Ulissi has been with the team (and its predecessor, Lampre). Next year, he will ride for Astana Qazaqstan. Finn Fisher-Black, a rising star, goes to Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, and Sjoerd Bax leaves for Q36.5 Pro Cycling, where he can focus more on his own success.

Even though they lost, the team got some great new players. The Ecuadorian Jhonatan Narváez beat Pogacar in the first stage of the Giro. He will help their classics team, as will the Lotto Dstny rider Florian Vermeersch. Julius Johansen and Rune Herregodts were late arrivals, but they bring experience with time trials and the ability to race on a variety of terrains. The team also signed Pablo Torres, who is 19 years old and broke Chris Froome’s record for the steepest climb on the Colle delle Finestre. This makes him a possible future star.

Florian Vermeersch (Lotto Dstny), Rune Herregodts (Intermarché-Wanty), Julius Johansen (Sabgal / Anicolor), and Pablo Torres (UAE Team Emirates Gen Z) are coming in.

Diego Ulissi (Astana Qazaqstan), Marc Hirschi (Tudor Pro Cycling), Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Sjoerd Bax (Q36.5 Pro Cycling), Álvaro Hodeg (not yet known), and Michael Vink (not yet known) are the riders who will be leaving.

Ones to keep an eye on in 2025: UAE Team Emirates

The big question for 2025 is whether or not Pogacar can do as well as it did this year. It looks like it can’t be done, but then again, the Slovenian seems hard to stop. He can do things that no one else can, and with the colourful jersey on, he might reach even greater heights. The biggest star in racing seems to be able to hit any goal.

But the team has shown that it’s not just one person. João Almeida is getting closer to the top and might be able to fight for podium spots in the grand tours. The same goes for Adam Yates, but Juan Ayuso, who is only 22, is really looking good. The Spaniard can do anything next season if he has more freedom. Mountain bikers like Isaac Del Toro, McNulty, Jay Vine, and the young Pablo Torres could also leave their mark.

It’s getting more and more interesting to follow the spring classics team. Some of their strong players were Politt, Wellens, Morgado, Mikkel Bjerg, and Jan Christen. Now that Narváez, Vermeersch, and Herregodts have joined, the classics core is even stronger. The team looks like it’s ready to go up against teams like Visma | Lease a Bike and Alpecin-Deceuninck, but they still don’t have that one truly great boss who can help them get through the spring classics. On the other hand, UAE Team Emirates will be hard to stop if Pogacar decides to ride more classic cars.

Selection UAE Team Emirates 2025