{"id":66866,"date":"2025-08-13T16:16:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T16:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/66866\/"},"modified":"2025-08-13T16:16:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T16:16:09","slug":"72-wins-15-stage-races-closing-in-on-cyclings-all-time-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/66866\/","title":{"rendered":"72 wins, 15 stage races, closing in on cycling\u2019s all-time record"},"content":{"rendered":"

“], “filter”: { “nextExceptions”: “img, blockquote, div”, “nextContainsExceptions”: “img, blockquote, a.btn, a.o-button”} }”><\/p>\n

UAE Emirates-XRG<\/a> is turning the 2025 season into a statistical landslide, stacking up 72 victories and 15 stage race titles with a jaw-dropping 20 different winners by mid-August.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just the Tadej Poga\u010dar<\/a> show at the WorldTour\u2019s richest team. UAE is proving it\u2019s the deepest team as well.<\/p>\n

The Emirati powerhouse could smash the elite men\u2019s all-time single-season wins record and surpass the long-held mark set by Columbia-HTC in 2009 with 85 victories.<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s back-to-back overall victories at the Tour of Poland and the Tour of Burgos underscored just how much UAE is squeezing the WorldTour lemon this year.<\/p>\n

In Poland, Brandon McNulty<\/a> claimed both the final time trial and the general classification, making him the team\u2019s 20th different rider to score a win this season.<\/p>\n

In Burgos, 21-year-old Isaac del Toro<\/a> paced to the GC win that confirmed him as UAE\u2019s stage race prince in waiting.<\/p>\n

How many more wins can the team rack up?<\/p>\n

There are still nearly three months from hanging up the bikes. And with such dominance, is this a good thing for cycling? Let\u2019s dive in:<\/p>\n

Historical records could fall
\n\"UAEUAE and Poga\u010dar have been winning a lot in 2025. (Photo: MARCO BERTORELLO\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

UAE just keeps winning. This time last year, the team\u2019s victory harvest stood at 63.<\/p>\n

With 72 and counting after the weekend flourish, the team already closing in on last year\u2019s end-of-season haul of 81 wins and one of cycling\u2019s most prestigious milestones.<\/p>\n

The modern era record remains Columbia-HTC with 85 victories in 2009.<\/p>\n

That record was powered in large part by a sprint juggernaut that included Mark Cavendish, who bagged 23 wins, Andr\u00e9 Greipel with 20, and puncheur master Edvald Boasson Hagen adding 13, combining for 56 of the team\u2019s total.<\/p>\n

UAE is doing it differently.<\/p>\n

The squad has no Cavendish-level sprinter. In fact, UAE\u2019s two sprinter-style riders \u2014 Alessandro Covi and Juan Sebasti\u00e1n Molano \u2014 only count for four wins between them.<\/p>\n

Instead, UAE\u2019s wins are spread across more riders who are winning on more varied terrain, from one-day classics, stage wins typically won in breakaways or summit finales, and stage race GC titles.<\/p>\n

But in 2009 the Columbia (now HTC) decided to play the Hincapie games and swept with 85 victories, being today the team with the most victories ever with a stellar Cavs winning in Via Roma, 4 stages in the Giro and 6 on the Tour. At 24 years old, he had the world at his feet. pic.twitter.com\/yBgX4yyHc5<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 CyclingHighlights (@unclecycling) November 12, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n

Poga\u010dar\u2019s 16 victories lead the way, but Jo\u00e3o Almeida and Del Toro each have nine, Juan Ayuso has six, and others have chipped in from time trials, breakaways, reduced sprints, and summit finishes.<\/p>\n

And UAE\u2019s wins are typically a higher quality than Columbia-HTC, which won with its sprint-heavy rotation and only won three GC titles in 2009 at relatively minor races. UAE is doing it with major one-day classics and WorldTour-level stage races.<\/p>\n

One big difference?<\/p>\n

UAE is reportedly cycling\u2019s richest team, boasting a team budget that soars about $50 million annually. Columbia-HTC squeezed out those wins on a relatively shoestring budget in comparison, and the U.S.-based team shuttered in 2011 when new sponsors could not be found.<\/p>\n

Stage race monopoly
\n\"UAEUAE and Poga\u010dar a blazing to new heights in 2025. (Photo: MARCO BERTORELLO\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s peel back the statistics to get a closer view of UAE\u2019s victory dominance that is being stamped out race by race across the season\u2019s most prestigious and quality events.<\/p>\n

The GC party started early, with Jonathan Narv\u00e1ez at the Tour Down Under, Adam Yates in Oman, Poga\u010dar at the UAE Tour, Pavel Sivakov at Ruta del Sol, and Juan Ayuso at Tirreno-Adriatico.<\/p>\n

Almeida kept the steamroller going at Basque Country and Romandie, with Marc Soler adding on at Asturias, Poga\u010dar again at the Dauphin\u00e9, Almeida in Suisse, Filippo Baroncini at Baloise Belgium Tour, Del Toro in Austria and Burgos, and McNulty in Poland.<\/p>\n

wins from riders<\/p>\n

Following Brandon McNulty\u2019s victory on the final stage of the Tour de Pologne, UAE Team Emirates \u2013 XRG have matched their feat from 2024 of having 20 riders register wins in a single season.<\/p>\n

@TeamEmiratesUAE<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/imtNG5S2gQ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Velon CC (@VelonCC) August 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

And then, of course, there\u2019s Poga\u010dar with perhaps his most complete Tour de France victory yet in July.<\/p>\n

Of the 12 WorldTour stage races contested so far in 2025, UAE has won nine.<\/p>\n

The only WorldTour-level interruptions came from Matteo Jorgenson at Paris-Nice, Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d at the Volta a Catalunya, and Simon Yates at the Giro d\u2019Italia.<\/p>\n

UAE raced to second at Catalunya with Ayuso and second at the Giro after Del Toro slipped out of pink in the wildly dramatic reversal in the final mountain stage.<\/p>\n

Almeida\u2019s sixth at Paris-Nice was the only WorldTour stage race in 2025 that UAE hasn\u2019t won or hit the podium.<\/p>\n

Ranking kings<\/p>\n

\"IsaacAfter a big Giro, Del Toro is lighting up the back half of 2025. (Photo: Tim de Waele\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The UCI rankings reinforce UAE\u2019s spot at the top that includes a broader view of the podiums and top-10 placings the team is hitting along with victories.<\/p>\n

Among individual riders, Poga\u010dar sits untouchable on 11,465 points, more than double his nearest rival Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek with 4,485 points.<\/p>\n

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) is third, with Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) in fourth and Rogli\u010d (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) rounding out the top five. Del Toro\u2019s Burgos win and strong Giro sent him rocketing 51 places up to sixth.<\/p>\n

On the team ranking, UAE\u2019s lead is absurd with 27,295.8 points, close to double what second-place Visma-Lease a Bike packs. Of course, the Killer Bees got the final sting in July by winning the prestigious best team prize at the Tour de France.<\/p>\n

NEW UCI RANKING<\/p>\n

Torito jumps 4 places and is now the 7\u00b0 best cyclist IN THE WORLD<\/p>\n

MEXICO ON TOP!!! pic.twitter.com\/cOmekcMcNf<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Fan Club Isaac del Toro (@ToritoFanClub) August 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

And it\u2019s no surprise that UAE packs four riders in the top-10 for the number of wins in 2025.<\/p>\n

Poga\u010dar sits unchallenged atop the 2025 wins chart with 16, including three GC wins (UAE, Dauphin\u00e9, Tour de France) and four major one-days (Strade Bianche, Tour of Flanders, Fl\u00e8che Wallonne, Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge). All of his wins are at the WorldTour level this season.<\/p>\n

Sprinters Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) is second with 12 wins and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) in third with 10.<\/p>\n

UAE\u2019s Del Toro (nine wins), Jo\u00e3o Almeida (nine), and Juan Ayuso (six) are fourth, fifth, and ninth, respectively, among the top 10.<\/p>\n

McNulty\u2019s \u201cW\u201d in Poland saw him become the 20th UAE rider to win in 2025, matching last year\u2019s record for most individual winners in a season. That number eclipsed the previous high of 19 set by Mapei-Quick Step in 2000.<\/p>\n

Nine UAE riders are still hunting their first win of the year: Mikkel Bjerg, Rune Herregodts, Julius Johansen, Domen Novak, Rui Oliveira, Nils Politt, Vegard Stake Laengen, Pablo Torres, and Florian Vermeersch.<\/p>\n

In Slovenia, Oliveira came close, only to be disqualified in what would have been his maiden pro victory.<\/p>\n

How many more wins?
\n\"UAEUAE celebrates its fourth yellow jersey with Poga\u010dar in Paris. (Photo: Tim de Waele\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

How many more wins can the team expect to snatch up in the closing months of 2025?<\/p>\n

Poga\u010dar sees a limited calendar to close out 2025, with a return to the Canadian one-days, Il Lombardia, and both the worlds and European championships. Conceivably, he could win all five, but let\u2019s call it three.<\/p>\n

At the Vuelta, the team will be focusing more on winning the GC than targeting stages to finally snatch what\u2019s been an elusive goal, because only Poga\u010dar has won a grand tour since UAE\u2019s arrival and current management structure in 2017.<\/p>\n

If the team wins the Vuelta and three stages along the way, add on Poga\u010dar\u2019s fall harvest, and that should push them over 80 wins.<\/p>\n

This win is for our friend and teammate, @Filobaroncini<\/a> \u2764\ufe0f<\/p>\n

\ufe0f @BrandonMcNult<\/a>: \u201cWe were all riding with him in mind all week, and today was nice to get a win for him, and the overall. We were all thinking of him all week since he left.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forza, Filippo. We are all with you \u2026 pic.twitter.com\/HfZYjJxotI<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamEmiratesUAE) August 10, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Could they squeeze out a few more wins in the remainder of the racing season?<\/p>\n

UAE will see a full slate of opportunities \u2014 from autumn one-day races to smaller stage events like the Tour of Luxembourg and the CRO Race \u2014 to pad its already staggering tally.<\/p>\n

Del Toro, who\u2019s been on a roll in the second half of 2025, will not race the Vuelta, and only has this weekend\u2019s 28th Hamburg Cyclassics confirmed on his schedule, but he should win at least one more race.<\/p>\n

Last season, a late burst from Marc Hirschi, now with Tudor Pro Cycling, had them poised to eclipse Columbia-HTC\u2019s 2009 record before they stalled just four wins shy.<\/p>\n

Will UAE try? For sure.<\/p>\n

Most managers or racers will tell you they\u2019re not racing for history or chasing new records, but when the flag drops and the adrenaline kicks in, UAE will be racing for the win, just like it has all season long.<\/p>\n