Star riders given their thoughts on the racing coming up ahead of 2025 UAE Tour Women

2025 UAE Tour Women Leaders with Trophy

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, โ€œBeing in a new team, Iโ€™m very motivated to represent UAE Team ADQ here in the UAE among these strong women. Iโ€™m just looking forward to racing.โ€ Despite a smooth winter of preparation, she remains uncertain about her form, admitting, โ€œI feel fine. Iโ€™m quite ready to race, but I donโ€™t know where Iโ€™m 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. โ€œIโ€™m quite happy to ride in warm conditions for my big comeback for a full road season,โ€ she said. โ€œThe team decided for me to start racing here in a bunch because the roads are wider than in Valencia, and itโ€™ll be a good test in the Jebel Hafeet climb to compare myself with the other riders.โ€

2025 UAE Tour Women Lorena WiebesPhoto Credit: Sprint Cycling Agency

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. โ€œWe did some trainings together, weโ€™ll see if it works in the race,โ€ she said. The Dutch sprinter reflected on her past success, saying, โ€œSo 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, โ€œThis yearโ€™s field features a lot of strong sprinters and lead outs, itโ€™ll let us see who has the strongest lead out.โ€

Charlotte Kool returns to the UAE Tour Women after missing last yearโ€™s edition due to injury. Reflecting on her turbulent off-season, she said, โ€œAfter my 2024 season ended with a broken collarbone, Iโ€™ve had a chaotic winter with surgeries, change of equipmentโ€ฆ Itโ€™s been a different winter. I think Iโ€™m ready but weโ€™ll see.โ€ With the course remaining largely the same as in 2023, she is optimistic about her chances, saying, โ€œThe 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, โ€œIn every sport, itโ€™s nice to see a rivalry. With Lorena, we get the best out of each other, but weโ€™re not only two sprinters in this race, also Elisa [Balsamo] and a good bunch of sprinters. It makes it really nice!โ€

2025 UAE Tour Women Charlotte KoolPhoto Credit: Sprint Cycling Agency

Juliette Labous will be racing in the UAE for the first time and is eager to explore what the event has to offer. โ€œIโ€™m 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 itโ€™s a very international team, and it feels really nice,โ€ she said. With a focus on testing her form, she added, โ€œI donโ€™t have big expectations, itโ€™ll be a good race to test the legs and take my marks for the season. Itโ€™s windy, so weโ€™ll have to be sharp on every stage, itโ€™s an exciting race for sprinters and climbers. Itโ€™s 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. โ€œIโ€™m really happy to be in the UAE for the first time. I know itโ€™s kind of the sprintersโ€™ world championship,โ€ she said. โ€œSo Iโ€™m looking forward to discovering it, especially because I like racing with this weather and the temperatures we have here. We have a good team, weโ€™re 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