Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates - XRG set for Tour of Britain debut in historic 2025 edition

According to Cycling Weekly, UAE Team Emirates - XRG will line up at the Tour of Britain for the first time this September, as the 2025 edition of the race takes on added meaning with the career farewell of Geraint Thomas. The six-day stage race begins on September 2 in Suffolk and concludes on September 7 in Cardiff, the hometown of Thomas, who will bring the curtain down on a storied professional career in front of a Welsh crowd. Organisers have shaped the route around the INEOS Grenadiers rider’s retirement, making this year’s event one of the most anticipated editions in recent memory.

Although UAE have never raced the Tour of Britain before, they arrive this year as the dominant team of the 2025 season. With 68 wins already to their name, the squad is fresh off a spectacular Tour de France, where Tadej Pogacar took his fourth overall victory along with four stage wins and the mountains classification.

They also impressed at the Giro d’Italia, with Isaac Del Toro finishing second overall after narrowly missing out on the Maglia Rosa on the penultimate stage to Simon Yates. “We’re not done yet,” the team said recently, and their presence in Britain could signal yet more victories on the horizon.

However, Pogacar is not expected to take part. Initially scheduled to race the Vuelta a España, he pulled out earlier this week due to fatigue and will instead return for the GPs de Québec and Montréal in Canada before targeting another rainbow jersey (or two) at the World Championships. UAE have yet to confirm their lineup for Britain, and neither have any of the other major squads beyond the announcement of Thomas.

Eight other WorldTour teams will join UAE at the start line in Suffolk: Team Visma | Lease a Bike, Groupama-FDJ, Bahrain Victorious, INEOS Grenadiers, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, Soudal - Quick-Step, Lidl-Trek, and Team Picnic PostNL. Groupama-FDJ, like UAE, will be making their first appearance at the Tour of Britain. The French team, however, have had a much less successful year than UAE, and have now gone 6 years without a Tour de France stage win.

With the race serving as a potential tune-up for the Worlds, more big names could be added to the start list. Last year Remco Evenepoel was present, and Wout van Aert may want more of the success he enjoyed in the UK in 2021 and 2023.

As it stands, Thomas remains the only confirmed rider. But with the race finishing in Cardiff and the World Championships looming, expectations for the final start list are high.