As the 2025 cycling calendar turns toward its final chapter,
UAE Team Emirates – XRG stand on the brink of a potential milestone. With the
Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, and spring classics already behind them, only
the Vuelta a España, World Championships, and Il Lombardia remain among the
season’s biggest events. The team has already collected 72 victories this year,
just nine shy of matching their 2024 total of 81, which ranked as the third
most wins by a professional team in history.
Their first triumph of 2025 came in January, when Jhonatan
Narváez took stage five of the Santos Tour Down Under. Most recently, Brandon
McNulty delivered both a time trial stage win and the overall title at the Tour
de Pologne. Between those bookends, the team’s roster, led by Tadej Pogacar,
Juan Ayuso, Isaac Del Toro, João Almeida, and others, has dominated the
majority of races they have started. In short, UAE have once again been the
team to beat.
The benchmark they are chasing belongs to Team Columbia – HTC,
who recorded a staggering 87 wins in 2009, a season powered by Mark Cavendish’s
23 victories, the highest individual tally of that year, with André Greipel
adding 20 and Edvald Boasson Hagen contributing 12. That same team also holds
the second spot on the all-time list with 82 wins in 2008. UAE’s 2024 total of
81 sits just behind, making the prospect of surpassing Columbia – HTC’s
long-standing record a realistic target for the rest of 2025.
Pogacar’s remaining schedule for UAE includes the Grand Prix
Cycliste de Québec and Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, where he will start as
favourite, and Il Lombardia, where he will attempt to claim a fifth consecutive
victory. Ayuso and Almeida are set to lead the team at the Vuelta, where they
will aim to topple Jonas Vingegaard in the general classification while also
hunting stage wins.
They still have a long way to go, but the combination of
late-season one-day races, stage wins at the Vuelta, and the monument in
Lombardy presents multiple pathways to closing the gap to 87.
The question is no longer whether UAE Team Emirates – XRG
are the strongest squad in the peloton; it is whether they can maintain their
relentless winning pace in the season’s closing months. If Pogacar, Ayuso,
Almeida, and their supporting cast deliver as expected, there is a possibility
that 2025 will finally be the year that Columbia – HTC’s record falls.
Read also
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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