More than just Pogacar: UAE boast 20 different winners in 2026

UAE Team Emirates-XRG's 2026 season has once again revolved around Tadej Pogacar, but looking exclusively at the Slovenian superstar's results would overlook one of the team's biggest strengths. Beyond his extraordinary individual contribution, the Emirati squad has demonstrated an impressive ability to win through different riders, with 20 members of its roster recording at least one victory during the season.

The figure is particularly impressive considering the scale of Pogacar's contribution. The Slovenian won Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, while also collecting stage victories and overall titles at several major stage races. He took the general classification at the Tour de France and Tour de Suisse, adding five Tour stage wins and victories at the Tour de Romandie and Vuelta a España. His 22 victories alone would have placed UAE among the most successful teams in the peloton.

Yet the team's 78-win total was built on much more than one rider. Isaac del Toro was the second-biggest contributor, with 12 victories, including the UAE Tour and Tirreno-Adriatico overall titles, as well as the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Lidl Deutschland Tour. The Mexican also won stages at the UAE Tour, Tirreno-Adriatico, the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and the Tour de France, before adding the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal in September.

Jan Christen, Julius Johansen and Benoît Cosnefroy each collected five victories. Christen combined overall and stage success at the AlUla Tour with a stage win at the Tour de Pologne and both the road race and time trial at the Swiss National Championships.

Johansen, meanwhile, delivered several results against the clock, winning the individual time trial at the Sibiu Cycling Tour and the Volta a Portugal, as well as the prologues at the Volta a Portugal and Boucles de la Mayenne. He also won the time trial at O Gran Camiño.

Cosnefroy won the Grand Prix du Morbihan and Coppa Sabatini, while also taking a stage and the overall classification at Boucles de la Mayenne, in addition to a stage at the Tour de Hongrie.

Jhonatan Narváez was another important contributor, taking three stages at the Giro d'Italia and a stage at the Tour de Suisse. Jay Vine also enjoyed a productive start of the season, winning the Australian time trial championship before taking both the overall classification and a stage at the Tour Down Under.

The experienced riders in the squad were equally important. Tim Wellens won Clásica Jaén and secured the overall title at the Tour of Britain, while Adam Yates took the general classification and a stage at O Gran Camiño. Nils Politt added the German time trial championship and a stage at the Tour of Britain. Felix Großschartner, meanwhile, claimed the Austrian national time trial title.

Juan Sebastián Molano won a stage at the Tour of Oman and another at the CRO Race, while Marc Soler took a stage at the Vuelta a la Región de Murcia. Igor Arrieta secured a stage victory at the Giro d'Italia, and Rune Herregodts became Belgian road race champion.

The Portuguese contingent also contributed to the tally. Ivo Oliveira was particularly successful at the Tour de Kyushu, winning two stages and the overall classification. His brother Rui Oliveira added a stage victory at the Volta a Portugal, where young Spanish rider Adrià Pericas also claimed a stage. Brandon McNulty completed the list with victory at the Veneto Classic, giving UAE another one-day race winner.

The closest teams in the ranking are Uno-X Mobility and Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, both with 15 different winners. Their figures are also evidence of considerable depth, particularly for Uno-X, whose ability to distribute victories across its roster has become an important part of its identity.

Red Bull, meanwhile, has combined the results of its leading names with contributions from riders across the team. The same can be said of both Netcompany INEOS and Team Visma | Lease a Bike, as they follow with 14 different winners.