95 (or whas it 97?) wins and a new record year, but losing that one race still hurts UAE Team Emirates - XRG

Of course, it’s starting to get a bit predictable. The dominance of Tadej Pogacar and UAE Team Emirates–XRG is beginning to wear not just on rival riders, but even on fans. Yet their 95 victories in 2025 still tell a fascinating story. What do those numbers reveal about the team’s season, and what do they say about what’s coming next?

Tadej Pogacar added three more Monuments to his name in 2025 - Tour of Flanders, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and Il Lombardia - and claimed a second consecutive World Championship title. He also returned to Milan–San Remo and made his Paris–Roubaix debut, where he finally proved beatable. Twice, he was undone by a flying Mathieu van der Poel: rare signs of vulnerability from “Pogi.”

But it wasn’t just about him. The Emirati team won almost everywhere it raced, often with an impressive variety of riders. Where the team itself wasn’t competing, its riders still triumphed in national championships, thanks to Jhonatan Narváez, Felix Großschartner, António Morgado, Rafal Majka, Tim Wellens, Ivo Oliveira, and Isaac Del Toro.

Del Toro, in particular, had a spectacular year, with 18 victories to his name. UAE simply won everywhere. And while Pogacar was the leading force, the team still took wins with 20 different riders. It was fitting, then, that in the GP Montréal, Pogacar famously gifted victory to Brandon McNulty - a moment that captured the unity within the squad.

UAE claimed the biggest race of the year, the Tour de France, and Pogacar did it once again with overwhelming dominance. The world champion barely lost a race all season. In the other Grand Tours, UAE faltered slightly: Del Toro saw his Giro d'Italia victory slip away in spectacular fashion, while Jonas Vingegaard proved too strong for João Almeida in the Vuelta a España.

Still, Almeida’s season was outstanding, winning Itzulia Basque Country, Romandie, and Tour de Suisse, three of the year’s seven major stage races. It was a hallmark of UAE’s supremacy that they could win almost every stage race they entered. In the Vuelta, for instance, the team won seven of 21 stages, driven by an attacking Juan Ayuso.

The real miracle, then, was how many riders didn’t win: Mikkel Bjerg, Rune Herregodts, Julius Johansen, Vegard Stake Laengen, Domen Novak, Rui Oliveira, Nils Politt, Pablo Torres, and Florian Vermeersch (who did win the Gravel World Championship for Belgium). Even so, UAE matched its own record from the year before: 20 different winners.

They fell just short of 100 victories, but UAE Team Emirates–XRG still delivered a record-breaking season. With the unbeatable Pogacar, the fiery Del Toro and Ayuso, the consistent Almeida, and a fenomenal supporting cast who also took their own wins, it was another near-perfect year for the best squad in the world.

But was it worth a perfect 10? Not quite.

That Giro d’Italia loss still stings. Nobody expected Del Toro to be in that position by Stage 20, but once he was, the team should have sealed the deal - and certainly not lost it the way they did. It remains one of the biggest tactical errors of the season. So, no perfect score, but still a 9.7 out of 10, according to our editorial panel.

The key question now: can UAE stay just as unbeatable in 2026? Based on transfers, the loss of Juan Ayuso could prove costly. The Spaniard left after plenty of internal tension and signed for Lidl–Trek. Once the team’s brightest stage-race talent, his departure, following a breakdown during the Vuelta, clearly hurt.

UAE also said goodbye to Alessandro Covi and Rafal Majka, the latter retiring after years of loyal service. Still, there’s no shortage of talent coming through. Adrià Pericas, promoted from the development squad, could well be the spiritual successor to Ayuso with his climbing potential.

Meanwhile, the arrivals of Kevin Vermaerke and Benoît Cosnefroy strengthen the team for hilly classics. The American is something of a wildcard, but exactly the type of rider who could blossom under UAE’s structure. As for Cosnefroy... if he can stay injury-free, this might be the season he finally fulfills his promise.

(Provisional) incoming: Kevin Vermaerke (Picnic PostNL), Benoît Cosnefroy (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Adrià Pericas (UAE Team Emirates Gen Z)

(Provisional) outgoing: Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek), Alessandro Covi (Jayco Alula) and Rafal Majka (retired)

The familiar UAE recipe remains 95% intact. The top priority is simple: keep Pogacar fit and hungry for more. If they manage that, expect another 20 victories, another Tour win, and probably two Monuments, or more. But he won’t have to do it alone. Del Toro and Almeida will share Grand Tour leadership duties, keeping UAE in contention for every major prize.

Del Toro is widely expected to take another big step and start winning on the sport’s biggest stages; can he win a Grand Tour? Almeida, too, could be ready to land a truly major win. Riders like Pavel Sivakov, Jhonatan Narváez, Jay Vine, Tim Wellens, Adam Yates, Mikkel Bjerg, Marc Soler, and Brandon McNulty will again be invaluable in support - and opportunistic enough to grab victories of their own.

There’s also excitement around the next generation. Jan Christen and António Morgado might finally start converting potential into wins at the very highest level of the sport, while youngsters Pablo Torres and Adrià Pericas will be eager to make their mark. Perhaps we'll have to wait until 2027 for their breakout year - but then again, UAE has proven us wrong before…