UAE Team Emirates
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| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| UCI code | UAD | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Registered | Italy (1999–2016) UAE (2017–present) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline(s) | Road | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | UCI WorldTeam | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bicycles | Colnago | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Components | Shimano, Enve | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | Team home page | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Key personnel | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| General manager | Mauro Gianetti | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team manager(s) | Matxin Fernandez | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team name history | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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UAE Team Emirates (UCI team code: UAD) is an Emirati road bicycle racing team. The team competes at UCI WorldTeam level and has done so since the UCI World Tour was formed as the top category of road cycling in 2005.
History
[edit]The team was established in 2017 as UAE Abu Dhabi before being renamed UAE Team Emirates in 2018. It is sponsored by the UAE government and the team has achieved notable success in various prestigious races, including stage wins and overall victories in Grand Tours (the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, and Vuelta a España) and one-day races.The team was temporarily suspended from the ProTour in 2010, missing one ProTour event.[1]
Transition from an Italian-based team
[edit]Chinese involvement
[edit]In August 2016 the team (then called Lampre-Merida) confirmed that its WorldTeam licence was being transferred from CGS Cycling to Chinese company TJ Sport Consultation, with the team becoming the first Chinese WorldTour team from 2017. Former Saunier Duval–Prodir team manager Mauro Gianetti was announced as the co-ordinator for the project.[2]
In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport the following month, Saronni confirmed that he and CGS Cycling would continue to manage the team on TJ Sport's behalf, and that the team's bicycles would be supplied by Colnago. He indicated that the project was being co-ordinated by the Chinese government via TJ Sport with involvement from a number of Chinese companies including Alibaba, and that its aim was to develop Chinese cycling and riders.[3]
When the UCI awarded 17 WorldTour licences to teams in November, it announced that TJ Sport's application was "under review" by its Licensing Commission.[4] According to Saronni, the reason for the delay was that the head of the TJ Sport project, Li Zhiqiang, had fallen seriously ill, which prevented funding for the project from being confirmed.
Emirati rescue
[edit]As a result, the team looked elsewhere for sponsorship, securing funding from the United Arab Emirates and changing its name to UAE Abu Dhabi. The UCI confirmed the team's WorldTour licence on 20 December.[5] In February 2017, the team announced that airline Emirates had signed on with the team as a naming-rights sponsor. The team was subsequently known as UAE Team Emirates.[6]
In June 2017, two days before the 2017 Tour de France the team announced it would also be sponsored by the First Abu Dhabi Bank, an amalgamation of the First Gulf Bank and the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, with their logo being added to the chest and side of the team's jersey.[7]
Team roster
[edit]- As of 25 January 2024.[8]
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Major wins
[edit]National, continental, and world champions
[edit]- 1999
Belgian Road Race, Ludo Dierckxsens
- 2000
South African Time Trial, Robbie Hunter
Latvian Time Trial, Raivis Belohvoščiks
- 2001
- 2002
- 2005
Austrian Road Race, Gerrit Glomser
- 2006
Italian Time Trial, Marzio Bruseghin
- 2007
Slovenian Road Race, Tadej Valjavec
- 2008
World Road Race, Alessandro Ballan
- 2011
Ukrainian Road Race, Oleksandr Kvachuk
- 2014
Portuguese Time Trial, Nelson Oliveira
- 2015
Ethiopian Road Race, Tsgabu Grmay
Taiwanese Road Race, Feng Chun-kai
- 2017
UAE Time Trial, Yousif Mirza
European Track (Individual pursuit), Filippo Ganna
- 2018
Norwegian Road Race, Vegard Stake Laengen
- 2019
- 2020
- 2021
African Time Trial, Ryan Gibbons
- 2022
Swiss Time Trial, Joel Suter
- 2023
Australian Time Trial, Jay Vine
American Time Trial, Brandon McNulty
- 2024
German Time Trial, Nils Politt
References
[edit]- ^ "Lampre granted temporary ProTour license - Cyclingnews.com". cyclingnews.com. Archived from the original on 1 April 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
- ^ "TJ Sport Consultation to take over Lampre-Merida's WorldTour licence". cyclingnews.com. 26 August 2016. Archived from the original on 2 September 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
- ^ Farrand, Stephen (3 September 2016). "Saronni reveals details of the new Chinese WorldTour team". cyclingnews.com. Archived from the original on 4 September 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
- ^ Farrand, Stephen (13 December 2016). "New sponsor set to save TJ Sport team after problems with Chinese backers". cyclingnews.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
- ^ "Saronni reveals how he secured UAE Abu Dhabi's WorldTour licence". cyclingnews.com. 26 December 2016. Archived from the original on 11 January 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
- ^ "Fly Emirates to sponsor UAE Abu Dhabi team - Cyclingnews.com". cyclingnews.com. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- ^ "UAE Team Emirates brings on new sponsor ahead of Tour de France - Cyclingnews.com". cyclingnews.com. Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
- ^ "UAE Team Emirates". UCI. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
External links
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