The women's UAE Tour seemed to have been decided on Friday as Elisa Longo Borghini and UAE Team ADQ thrived in the crosswinds and created a colossal gap to the competition. Today on stage 3, the Italian virtually sealed the triumph as she comfortably won atop Jebel Hafeet with her teammate taking second place on the day.
As is usual in both men's and women's races, the queen stage goes up the famous mountain after a flat day in the desert and so the power outputs up the wide and winding roads are always big. Differences can be made quickly and that's exactly what happened. Race leader Lorena Wiebes was dropped with over 7 kilometers to go and quickly the group was reduced to only a few dozen riders. Silvia Persico's work was astounding, and when Longo Borghini made her move with 2.8 kilometers to go there was no-one who could respond.
The veteran soared to a stage win that gives her a very large gap over her rivals, whilst Persico hung on to the wheel of her chasers and then sprinted to second place. Kim Le Court secured a surprising third spot on the day as the likes of Cédrine Kerbaol, Juliette Labous and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot cracked early on. This was her first triumph for her new team, anticipating a season where she will be a contender for the classics and Grand Tours alike.
| 1 | Longo Borghini Elisa | UAE Team ADQ | 03:56:31 |
| 2 | Persico Silvia | UAE Team ADQ | + 35 |
| 3 | Le Court Kim | AG Insurance-Soudal Team | + 35 |
| 4 | Trinca Colonel Monica | Liv AlUla Jayco | + 38 |
| 5 | Malcotti Barbara | Human Powered Health | + 38 |
| 6 | Niedermaier Antonia | CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto | + 43 |
| 7 | Miermont Dilyxine | Ceratizit Pro Cycling Team | + 01:29 |
| 8 | Vinke Nienke | Team Picnic PostNL | + 01:30 |
| 9 | Stiasny Petra | Roland | + 01:38 |
| 10 | Garcia Mavi | Liv AlUla Jayco | + 01:50 |
| 11 | Aalerud Katrine | Uno-X Mobility | + 01:54 |
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- That may be but that is unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And yet, it attracts people, even you. What’s more, it attracts the rival fanboys to fill cyberspace with endless pointless my hero is better than your hero blabla that’s all been heard before and only helps sell the site as an advertising platform. You know what the solution is but most can’t resist. No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- he is doing 460 watts for 35 min to achieve 7 w/kg with VO2 at 96 , just unreal numbers.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just do it, and put up with the consequencesJumpyjohn08-11-2026
- "was a headliner at the Tour de France" Nobody cared about Piddie. Only rivals that were there for Pogi, Jonas, Remco, Sexias, Lipo, Del Toro and they were all expected to lose. Piddie was not even in any conversation.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- exactly, he had an amazing season, but with these overstatements they don‘t do him good.Ketterechts08-11-2026
- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
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