"What Visma has achieved" - Matxin admits UAE is now going after rival team's historical record
Cycling
UAE Team Emirates - XRG have achieved a lot, and have been at the top of the UCI rankings for years now. Yet despite this, they have not yet achieved something Team Visma | Lease a Bike have, which is now a dream: Win all three Grand Tours in a year.
However, the Emirati team, spearheaded by Tadej Pogacar, remains the staple of professional cycling at the time being. Yet again, in 2026, they have topped the individual and team UCI rankings.
“Ultimately, you end up in the position that many teams and cyclists would love to be in. It’s a privileged and coveted position, and I understand why they’re trying to strengthen their teams and surpass us,” Matxin shared with Eurosport Spain.
Visma used to be their main rival; but over the past few years, Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe and Lidl-Trek have both grown substantially in budget and quality, making it a wide array of squads pursuing UAE's position.
UAE has the largest budget in the World Tour, not only used to maintain Pogacar, but to hold multiple riders that would otherwise be leaders in different teams.

Tadej Pogacar won this year's Milano-Sanremo
Giro-Tour-Vuelta streak is a big goal for UAE
The schedules for 2027 will be decided only next month at the team's training camp, with the media day set to take place on the 18th of December. On that day, the riders will share their thoughts on the upcoming season.
With Pogacar aiming for the Tour de France and Vuelta a España, it will likely mean the Emirati team will be the one to beat in both races.
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The Giro d'Italia has been presented this week with a climber-friendly route, featuring seven summit finishes. Isaac del Toro and João Almeida will give the team further firepower for the key races, and will help the team in pursuing a goal that Matxin personally has.
"What am I longing for right now? I won't lie, what Visma has achieved: winning the Giro, the Tour, and the Vuelta in the same year".
The Dutch team achieved this in 2023 with Primoz Roglic, Jonas Vingegaard and Sepp Kuss; and UAE is now looking to be the second team to conquer all three Grand Tours in one year.

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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