Five conclusions about the bizarre stats of Pogacar, Del Toro, and the others from UAE Emirates-XRG in 2025
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Follow us on Google2025 was, without doubt, a record-breaking season for UAE Emirates-XRG. The team won 95 times during the official UCI calendar, surpassing HTC's 2009 record of 85 wins. We analyzed Tadej Pogacar's team's victories and drew five conclusions.
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20 of the 29 riders from UAE Emirates-XRG triumphed
A problem shared is a problem halved, as the saying goes. Well, at UAE, they took that very seriously in 2025. Of the 29 riders who started the year, an impressive 20 won at least one race. And that's not even counting Florian Vermeersch's world title on the gravel bike. The Belgian did not win on the road for his new team and was joined by eight others.
Besides Vermeersch, Mikkel Bjerg, Rune Herregodts, Julius Johansen, Vegard Stake Laengen, Domen Novak, Rui Oliveira, Nils Politt, and Pablo Torres also won no cycling races in 2025. Of course, almost all of them played a decisive role in the team's 95 victories. For example, Bjerg and Novak won the team time trial at the Vuelta a España.
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Mikkel Bjerg (right) was one of those useful UAE riders without a win in 2025
Pogacar won more often than 10 WorldTour teams in 2025
Apart from the diversity in victories, the big man from UAE Emirates-XRG also stands out, of course. Pogacar won 20 times in 2025, surpassing no fewer than 10 of the 17 other WorldTour teams. Only Soudal-Quick Step (54), Lidl-Trek (46), Visma | Lease a Bike (40), XDS Astana (32), INEOS Grenadiers (28), Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale (26), and Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe (23) won more often.
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Pogacar won almost exclusively at the highest level
Stat padding is a popular term in basketball. It means that basketball players often aim to score as many points, assists, rebounds, and blocks as possible, without necessarily contributing to the team's success. Stat padding is also often used to describe a soccer player who scores only against weaker clubs and fails to deliver against the big teams.
In cycling, you could say that Isaac Del Toro (UAE) or Paul Magnier (Quick Step), for example, won quite often in lower-ranked races. However, that may be less fair in cycling. Pogacar was the one who triumphed almost exclusively at the highest level. Of his 20 victories, only Tre Valli Varesine was of 1.Pro status, the rest were WorldTour, World Championships, or European Championships.
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UAE Emirates-XRG wins only a few time trials and sprints
With 95 victories, you may wonder: how many sprints and time trials were included? Teams with a time trial specialist such as Remco Evenepoel or a sprinter such as Magnier can, of course, rack up a lot of victories per year. Not for free, but in that respect, time trials and sprints are more often a reflection of simple quality, unlike many other races.
The statistics for UAE are particularly remarkable in this respect, because the team doesn't actually have any top sprinters available. Juan Sebastián Molano won two sprints, Ivo Oliveira three. There were hardly any real bunch sprints among them. Time trials? Only five individual ones, plus one team time trial in the Vuelta.
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Classic Bruges-De Panne
UAE's winning formula mostly revolves around Pogacar
Was UAE Emirates-XRG a one-day wonder in 2025? Absolutely not. In 2024, the team already recorded 81 victories, and in 2023, there were 57. Every year, more victories are added, and the winning formula used by UAE will remain largely intact in 2026, revolving around leader Pogacar. This means that a large part of the selection will also ride for UAE in 2026.
Juan Ayuso moved to Lidl-Trek, Alessandro Covi to Jayco AlUla, and Rafal Majka retired. The trio accounted for 11 of the 95 victories in 2025. With Pogacar, the increasingly impressive João Almeida, and new star Del Toro, there is nothing to suggest that the machine will slow down in 2026. The competition has been warned...
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Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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Latest Comments
- I’m still learning the calendar: is cyclocross mainly preparation for the spring classics, or does he race it as a separate goal as well? I’d love to see him back in the mud.jeremya04-11-2026
- The article makes it sound as if Roubaix is the only classic where he has a realistic shot. He’s been close in Flanders too, and one good tactical day can change everything.jennifer1904-11-2026
- Milan-Sanremo and Roubaix is a pretty special pair of Monuments. Any clues yet on which cyclocross races he’ll target?andrewf04-11-2026
- He’s right to be realistic about Flanders with Pogačar and Evenepoel around, but you can’t count Van Aert out on those roads. If he gets the right opportunity, he has the engine and experience to take it.davidm04-11-2026
- That Roubaix win felt like such a release after all the near-misses. Brilliant to hear that joy outweighed relief for Wout.patriciaw04-11-2026
- Why would a mountain time trial be different from a normal one? Is it just that the riders have to climb the whole course?samanthak03-11-2026
- I don’t quite buy the “fear of failure” argument. Riders can race the Giro and still have confidence in July; it comes down to recovery and planning, doesn’t it?patriciaw03-11-2026
- The Giro-Tour double is a massive ask, even for the very best. Pogačar made it look almost routine in 2024, but that’s hardly a sensible benchmark for everyone else!pedalpowe2903-11-2026
- Bakelants makes a fair point: if the 2027 Tour really suits Remco, he can’t afford to dilute the build-up. That 37km flat TT will be tempting, mind.julien03-11-2026
- Mont Blanc sounds like a spectacular finish, though four climbs on the final day might be a bit much after eight hard stages. Hope the route details are clear soon.raceready703-11-2026