UAE TEAM ADQ

UAE Development Team fans will remember this day, because after six months of racing it can be said that the project of developing young cycling talent is working. Being pioneers in creating a team specifically for very young girls has given UAE Development Team unique know-how. And the results are evident for everyone. 

Linda Zanetti's example proves it: zero wins in 2022, five wins in 2023. There are two reasons for this important, consistent, and concrete growth.
The first reason is that the sports directors of UAE Development Team have worked with quality, competence, and seriousness. But the second reason is perhaps even more important: Linda Zanetti has worked hard and with commitment, and now she is reaping the fruits of her labor. 

In fact, even in the second stage of the Princess Anna Vasa Tour in Poland, the Swiss U23 national champion won in the sprint thanks to an extraordinary acceleration. Also in the Top 10 was Anastasia Carbonari who finished the race in sixth position (in the first stage she had finished fifth instead). 

"The second stage was hard because there were so many attacks," Linda Zanetti said after the race, "we chased all the breakaways because we wanted to get to the sprint. In the last meters I was a little closed, but I still managed to win in the sprint:"

Now Linda Zanetti is also leader of the general classification, points classification and youth classification, and tomorrow the third and final time trial stage (13.5 km) will be raced. 

"I am leader of the general classification by only one second," Linda explains, "but tomorrow will be tough because Dominika Wlodarczyk is strong in the time trial. I will try hard to defend this leadership."

There is another reason for joy for UAE Development Team fans around the world. In fact for the first time in UAE cycling history two female cyclists have made their debut in a race in Europe. They are national champion Safiya Al-Sayegh (UAE Team ADQ) and UAE Development Team's Zahra Hussein. 

"I am happy with Safiya's performance because today she finished the race in the top group in 22nd place," says Linda Zanetti, "she showed that she can move very well in the group and it is surprising because this was her first race in Europe. Really very good. Zahra, on the other hand, was simply unlucky in the first stage because she was involved in a fall. I am convinced that she would have done well too."