With the UCI Track World Championships in Santiago de Chile, the racing season for UAE Team ADQ athletes officially came to an end – closing a truly extraordinary year filled with achievements and satisfaction.
The final event added two more world titles to the team’s impressive collection, thanks to Lara Gillespie (Elimination Race) and Federica Venturelli (Team Pursuit).
On the road, UAE Team ADQ claimed 28 UCI victories in 2025, achieved by 13 different riders, a testament to the team’s depth and collective strength. The team finished third overall in the UCI World Ranking.
If we also include wins on gravel, track, and national races – as well as results from UAE Development Team riders – the total number of victories rises to 44 in 2025, earned by 16 different athletes.
In terms of titles, UAE Team ADQ riders claimed seven national championships: Chapman (Australia, 1), Alsayegh (UAE, 2), Longo Borghini (Italy, 1), Venturelli (Italy, 1), and Blasi (Spain, 2).
At the European level, there were six continental titles: Gillespie (Track Elimination, 1), Ivanchenko (U23 Point Race), Venturelli (U23 Individual Pursuit and U23 ITT), Magnaldi (Gravel), and Blasi (U23 Road/ Race).On the world stage, the team secured three world titles: Chapman (Mixed Relay TTT), Gillespie (Track Elimination), and Venturelli (Team Pursuit).
In addition, the riders collected several other prestigious medals: silver for Federica Venturelli in the European Mixed Relay TTT, silver for Emirati rider Safiya Alsayegh in the time trial at the Asian Championships in Thailand, bronze for Silvia Persico in the UCI Gravel World Championships, bronze for Hannah Kunz in the U23 Track Team Pursuit at the European Championships, and two more bronzes for Venturelli and Blasi at the Road World Championships in Rwanda.
With nine UCI road victories, team leader Elisa Longo Borghini was the most successful rider of the season. The young revelation Paula Blasi took four UCI road wins, which rise to eight when including her national and European U23 titles.
The season’s highlights include some of the most remarkable victories of the year: a memorable triumph at home in the UAE Tour Women, with Elisa Longo Borghini winning the overall classification and Silvia Persico finishing second. Despite a challenging Spring Classics campaign, success came with wins at Dwars door Vlaanderen and Brabantse Pijl, and a third place at La Flèche Wallonne, all courtesy of Longo Borghini. She then went on to claim overall victory at the Giro d’Italia Women after a spectacular team performance.
The team continued to shine at the Tour de France Femmes, where Maeva Squiban took two stage wins and Dominika Wlodarczyk finished fourth overall. The season ended on a high note, with more titles and medals at the World and European Championships – especially from the younger riders – and additional victories by Longo Borghini in Italy (Tre Valli Varesine Women and Trofeo Tessile e Moda), Persico at Veneto Women, and Sofie van Rooijen at the Tour of Chongming Island in China.
On the track, the team celebrated the two world titles earned by Lara Gillespie and Federica Venturelli in Santiago de Chile, adding to the rainbow jersey already won by Brodie Chapman in the Mixed Relay TTT at the World Championships in Rwanda.
The promotion of Paula Blasi (since May 2025), Federica Venturelli, and Febe Jooris from the UAE Development Team to the WorldTour roster represents another major success for the team’s development pathway.
As already announced, Sofia Bertizzolo, Tereza Neumanova, and Lizzie Holden will leave the team at the end of the season – Bertizzolo to join a new team, while Neumanova and Holden will retire from professional cycling. The team extends its heartfelt gratitude to all three for their contributions and wishes them the very best for the future.
Looking ahead to 2026, UAE Team ADQ will count on a solid core group of riders who have renewed their contracts, ensuring stability and continuity for the project. They will be joined by three experienced new signings: Dutch rider Pauliena Rooijakkers, American Megan Jastrab, and Spaniard Mavi Garcia.
Following the bootcamp in Abu Dhabi, which included visits to several local sponsors, the team will now enjoy a few weeks of rest before regrouping in December to begin preparations for another promising season ahead.
(ph. @facepeeters)
