From the 16th to the 22nd of February, the peloton will be in the Middle East for what is the second World Tour stage-race of the season: the UAE Tour. The race, characterized by its flat stages and hot weather, will once again host some of the world’s very best. We take a look at its startlist.

The race was only created in 2019, off the back of the success of other events such as the Abu Dhabi Tour and the Dubai Tour. The region, host to large financial capacity, hot weather in February, and its World Tour status, has managed to attract big figures on a yearly basis. Its first edition, in 2019, immediately saw Primoz Roglic take the overall win ahead of then World Champion Alejandro Valverde.

With the growth of UAE Team Emirates – XRG, the nation’s own team, the importance it gained grew even bigger. Adam Yates won the race in 2020, and that gave way to then Pogacar’s two consecutive victories ahead of the Briton in 2021 and 2022. Then World Champion Remco Evenepoel soared to victory in 2023; his compatriot Lennert van Eetvelt won in 2024; whilst in 2025 it was World Champion Tadej Pogacar who took a dominant victory, winning both traditional finished into Jebej Jais and Jebel Hafeet.


Download the startlist in A4. The startlist is perhaps just as notable when it comes to its absences as is the case with the riders that are present. Jonas Vingegaard, Tim Merlier, Olav Kooij and Giulio Ciccone are all riders that would turn any race into a headline-grabbing event, but all four had to forego their participation due to injury or illness.However by no means is the startlist modest on the Middle East’s sole World Tour event, as Remco Evenepoel and Isaac del Toro headline what should be an exciting battle for the overall classification, set to go down on two tough summit finishes. Joshua Tarling for the time trial and Jonathan Milan for the sprints also provide the other terrains with more star power.Startlist UAE Tour 2026 

Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe

1 Evenepoel, Remco

2 Cattaneo, Mattia

3 Drizners, Jarrad

4 Fisher-Black, Finn

5 Herzog, Emil

6 Moscon, Gianni

7 Thornley, Callum

Alpecin – Premier Tech

11 Dehairs, Simon

12 Dillier, Silvan

13 Geens, Jonas

14 Rickaert, Jonas

15 Sénéchal, Florian

16 Thijssen, Gerben

17 Vergallito, Luca

Bahrain Victorious

21 Tiberi, Antonio

22 Arndt, Nikias

23 Caruso, Damiano

24 Kepplinger, Rainer

25 Eulálio, Afonso

26 Paasschens, Mathijs

27 Skerl, Daniel

Decathlon CMA CGM Team

31 Gall, Felix

32 Bissegger, Stefan

33 Bol, Cees

34 Ghys, Robbe

35 Hoole, Daan

36 Mühlberger, Gregor

37 Pollefliet, Gianluca

EF Education – EasyPost

41 Quinn, Sean

42 Beloki, Markel

43 Mackellar, Alastair

44 Mihkels, Madis

45 Schwarzbacher, Matthias

46 Steinhauser, Georg

47 Lee, Jardi van der

Groupama – FDJ United

51 Gaudu, David

52 Bower, Lewis

53 Cavagna, Rémi

54 Huens, Axel

55 Jacobs, Johan

56 Milan, Matteo

57 Paleni, Enzo

INEOS Grenadiers

61 Tarling, Josh

62 Øxenberg, Peter

63 Shmidt, Artem

64 Svestad-Bårdseng, Embret

65 Swift, Ben

66 Swift, Connor

67 Welsford, Sam

Lidl – Trek

71 Milan, Jonathan

72 Consonni, Simone

73 Gee-West, Derek

74 Ghebreigzabhier, Amanuel

75 Konrad, Patrick

76 Theuns, Edward

77 Walscheid, Max

Lotto – Intermarché

81 Eetvelt, Lennert Van

82 Buyst, Jasper De

83 Schuyteneer, Steffen De

84 Gualdi, Simone

85 Ørn-Kristoff, Felix

86 Sintmaartensdijk, Roel van

87 Veistroffer, Baptiste

Modern Adventure Pro Cycling

91 Bod, Stefan de

92 Christian, Sean

93 Kessler, Cole

94 Munton, Byron

95 Caudell, Ezra

96 Pickrell, Riley

97 Stewart, Mark

Movistar Team

101 Quintana, Nairo

102 Castrillo, Pablo

103 Milesi, Lorenzo

104 Moro, Manlio

105 Novák, Pavel

107 Torres, Albert

NSN Cycling Team

111 Bennett, George

112 Côté, Pier-André

113 Hirt, Jan

114 Mullen, Ryan

115 Raisberg, Nadav

116 Smith, Dion

117 Vernon, Ethan

Pinarello – Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team

121 Dunbar, Eddie

122 Harper, Chris

123 Houcou, Emmanuel

124 Howson, Damien

125 Parisini, Nicolò

126 Vanhoucke, Harm

127 Zukowsky, Nick

Soudal – Quick-Step

131 Wilder, Ilan Van

132 Bastiaens, Ayco

133 Dainese, Alberto

134 Hayter, Ethan

135 Lecerf, Junior

136 Lerberghe, Bert Van

137 Vangheluwe, Warre

Team Jayco AlUla

141 O’Connor, Ben

142 Durbridge, Luke

143 Gamper, Patrick

144 Mezgec, Luka

145 Pickering, Finlay

146 Plapp, Luke

147 Porter, Rudy

Team Picnic PostNL

151 Jakobsen, Fabio

152 Dinham, Matthew

153 Gaffuri, Mattia

154 Knox, James

155 Märkl, Niklas

156 Naberman, Tim

157 Uden, Casper van

Team Visma – Lease a Bike

161 Kelderman, Wilco

162 Doull, Owain

163 Graat, Tijmen

164 Kruijswijk, Steven

165 Mattio, Pietro

166 Nordhagen, Jørgen

167 Tulett, Ben

Tudor Pro Cycling Team

171 Storer, Michael

172 Froideveaux, Robin

173 Kluckers, Arthur

174 Kolze Changizi, Sebastian

175 Mikutis, Aivaras

176 Rondel, Mathys

177 Wilksch, Hannes

UAE Team Emirates XRG

181 Del Toro, Isaac

182 Herregodts, Rune

183 Molano, Sebastián

184 Politt, Nils

185 Vermaerke, Kevin

186 Vermeersch, Florian

187 Yates, Adam

Uno-X Mobility

191 Johannessen, Anders

192 Bévort, Carl-Frederik

193 Blikra, Erlend

194 Bugge, Martin Urianstad

195 Charmig, Anthon

196 Johannessen, Tobias

197 Skaarseth, Anders

XDS Astana Team

201 Malucelli, Matteo

202 Gonov, Lev

203 Higuita, Sergio

204 Lopez, Harold Martin

205 Romele, Alessandro

206 Syritsa, Gleb

207 Tejada, Harold