“We won with 20 different riders last year. Why shouldn’t we go for 21?” – UAE set sights on historic 100 wins after Isaac Del Toro seals UAE Tour

Isaac Del Toro’s overall victory at the 2026 UAE Tour may have been the headline result, but inside UAE Team Emirates - XRG, the message was broader and far more ambitious.

“We won with 20 different riders last year. Why shouldn’t we go for 21?” Sporting manager Joxean Matxin said after the race in conversation with Sporza, underlining that the team’s objectives stretch well beyond a single stage race triumph.

The UAE Tour marked the squad’s fourth overall victory in eight editions of its home race, and it added three more wins to a rapidly growing 2026 tally. Del Toro won twice on the road and secured the general classification, pushing the team’s season total to 15 victories before the end of February.

“This is only the beginning,” Matxin states boldly.

The raw figures are striking. Last year, UAE amassed 95 wins, breaking the long-standing modern benchmark of 85 set by Columbia-HTC in 2009. The century mark narrowly escaped them in 2025. With 15 wins already secured in 2026, the possibility of reaching 100 is no longer abstract.

“100 is just a number. For me it’s important to win more than last year. And preferably with one more rider as well,” Matxin explained.

That final remark speaks to the deeper metric he values. In 2025, UAE reached 95 wins through 20 different riders, a depth few teams in modern cycling can match. “We want to give everyone their opportunities. We have strong leaders, but we still won with 20 different riders last year. Why shouldn’t we go for 21 this year?”

It is a philosophy built on breadth as much as dominance.

Del Toro’s UAE Tour success came without an altitude camp or major pre-season training block, yet he won two stages and the overall title in emphatic fashion. Those victories count alongside earlier successes in Australia, the Middle East and Spain, with riders such as Jay Vine, Jan Christen, Antonio Morgado, Juan Sebastian Molano, Marc Soler and Tim Wellens already contributing to the 2026 win column.

Seven different riders have already lifted their arms this season, and Tadej Pogacar has not yet begun his campaign.

Matxin also pointed to Florian Vermeersch as a rider capable of adding to that list in the coming weeks. When asked about the possibility of winning Omloop Het Nieuwsblad with the Belgian, he smiled: “Where can I sign? He is a good rider with a strong mentality. We want to try to win a race with him this year.”

The UAE Tour may have delivered another home victory, but internally it represents something else: confirmation that the depth of the squad remains intact and that the targets are expanding rather than narrowing.

For UAE Team Emirates - XRG, the pursuit is no longer just about winning big races. It is about winning often and winning with as many different riders as possible.