The 2025 UAE Tour Women begins tomorrow, marking the start of the only UCI Women’s WorldTour race in the Middle East. A strong line-up of contenders gathered for a press conference ahead of the four-day event, with Elisa Longo Borghini, Pauline Ferrand-Prรฉvot, Lorena Wiebes, Charlotte Kool, Juliette Labous and Elisa Balsamo sharing their thoughts before the race kicks off.
Elisa Longo Borghini, the 2023 UAE Tour Women champion, will be racing in new colours after joining UAE Team ADQ. She expressed excitement about representing her new squad on home soil, stating, โBeing in a new team, Iโm very motivated to represent UAE Team ADQ here in the UAE among these strong women. Iโm just looking forward to racing.โ Despite a smooth winter of preparation, she remains uncertain about her form, admitting, โI feel fine. Iโm quite ready to race, but I donโt know where Iโm standing. The general classification will be decided in the wind and at Jebel Hafeet.โ
Pauline Ferrand-Prรฉvot is set to make her full return to road racing with Team Visma | Lease a Bike after spending recent years focusing on mountain biking. The French rider is eager to test herself against the peloton in a controlled environment. โIโm quite happy to ride in warm conditions for my big comeback for a full road season,โ she said. โThe team decided for me to start racing here in a bunch because the roads are wider than in Valencia, and itโll be a good test in the Jebel Hafeet climb to compare myself with the other riders.โ
A strong field of sprinters has gathered in the UAE, with Lorena Wiebes returning to the race alongside her lead-out riders Barbara Guarischi and Femke Gerritse. Wiebes is hopeful that their winter training will pay off. โWe did some trainings together, weโll see if it works in the race,โ she said. The Dutch sprinter reflected on her past success, saying, โSo far my best memory of the UAE Tour is when I took my first win for Team SD Worx in 2023.โ Aware of the competition, she added, โThis yearโs field features a lot of strong sprinters and lead outs, itโll let us see who has the strongest lead out.โ
Charlotte Kool returns to the UAE Tour Women after missing last yearโs edition due to injury. Reflecting on her turbulent off-season, she said, โAfter my 2024 season ended with a broken collarbone, Iโve had a chaotic winter with surgeries, change of equipmentโฆ Itโs been a different winter. I think Iโm ready but weโll see.โ With the course remaining largely the same as in 2023, she is optimistic about her chances, saying, โThe stages of the UAE Tour are quite similar to two years ago when I did really well.โ On her rivalry with Wiebes, she acknowledged, โIn every sport, itโs nice to see a rivalry. With Lorena, we get the best out of each other, but weโre not only two sprinters in this race, also Elisa [Balsamo] and a good bunch of sprinters. It makes it really nice!โ
Juliette Labous will be racing in the UAE for the first time and is eager to explore what the event has to offer. โIโm happy to discover Jebel Hafeet and the UAE Tour Women. Everything is new to me here, also being part of a French team for the first time, although itโs a very international team, and it feels really nice,โ she said. With a focus on testing her form, she added, โI donโt have big expectations, itโll be a good race to test the legs and take my marks for the season. Itโs windy, so weโll have to be sharp on every stage, itโs an exciting race for sprinters and climbers. Itโs gonna be a nice week.โ
For Elisa Balsamo, the 2025 UAE Tour Women marks her first time racing in the UAE. She is relishing the opportunity to compete against some of the fastest finishers in the peloton. โIโm really happy to be in the UAE for the first time. I know itโs kind of the sprintersโ world championship,โ she said. โSo Iโm looking forward to discovering it, especially because I like racing with this weather and the temperatures we have here. We have a good team, weโre ready to fight with a lot of energy.โ
The race, which runs from 6th to 9th February, will see the peloton tackle a mix of flat stages and the decisive Jebel Hafeet climb. With a strong start list featuring multiple sprinting and climbing specialists, the competition promises to be intense from the outset.
Main photo credit: Sprint Cycling Agency