Borghini is the UAE Women’s Tour champion for the third time

Italian Elisa Longo Borghini, leader of the Emirates ADQ Team, was crowned champion of the fourth edition of the UAE Women’s Tour 2026, sponsored by Abu Dhabi Ports Group, the only global race in the Middle East, on the agenda of the International Cycling Federation and organized by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council.
The curtain came down successfully on the activities of the fourth edition of the UAE Women’s Tour 2026, which was held across 4 stages, with a total distance of 533 km, with the participation of 120 female competitors from 20 international teams from the elite professional teams in the world.
Borghini achieved a major and well-deserved victory in the fourth and final Mudon (mountain) stage, which started today from Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, passing through the most prominent landmarks of the Al Ain region, and reaching the summit of Jebel Hafeet, with her third victory after the 2023-2025 editions, as the Italian was able to cover a distance of 156 km in the final stage in a time of 4 hours, 13 seconds, and 4 seconds.
The Italian finished the four stages of the Tour at the top of the overall standings with a total time of 13 hours, 6 minutes, and 32 seconds, eventually winning the red jersey sponsored by Abu Dhabi Ports Group, 16 seconds ahead of her compatriot Trinca Colnell Monica, star of the Liv AlUla Jaeco team, and 17 seconds ahead of the Dutch De Vries Femke, star of the Visma Les Abaek team, who came in third place in the overall standings.
The Dutch Laurinia Wipes, winner of the first three stages of the Tour and the star of the Dutch SDWorks team, kept the green jersey sponsored by Mubadala after she managed to collect 60 points during the fourth edition of the Tour, while the Italian Kiabuko Eleonora, the star of the Picnic Postnelle team, got the white jersey sponsored by Burjeel Holding after achieving a total time in all stages of 13 hours, 7 minutes and 57 seconds. As for the black jersey sponsored by the house, it went to Sarah Locon, the star. Top Girls’ Vassa Bortolo leads the medium speed classification.
The German Canyon Sram Zondakrypto team won the title of best team in the fourth edition after its competitors achieved a total time of 39 hours, 27 minutes and 24 seconds.
The start of the final stage was witnessed by His Excellency Mansour Bu Asiba, President of the Emirates Cycling Federation, Dr. Ahmed Abdullah Al Qubaisi, Assistant Secretary-General of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, and Badriya Zahid Al-Alawi, Head of the Human Resources and Administrative Services Department at Al Ain Sports and Cultural Club and its companies.
The T-shirt winners were crowned by: Secretary General of the Zayed Humanitarian Legacy Foundation, Dr. Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, the representative of the Traffic and Patrols Directorate in the Al Ain region, Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Abdullah Al Sharifi, the Secretary General of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Arif Hamad Al Awani, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Abu Dhabi Cycling Club, Matar Suhail Al Yabhouni, the Assistant Secretary General of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Dr. Ahmed Abdullah Al Qubaisi, and the Executive Director of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council. Events at Abu Dhabi Sports Council Talal Mustafa Al Hashemi, Acting President of the National Academy for Childhood Development Dr. Meera Saeed Al Kaabi, Chief Commercial Officer of Kizad Group Fatima Mohammed Al Hammadi, Head of Commercial Identity at Mubadala Nada Al Midfa, and Regional Executive Director of Burjeel Al Ain – Burjeel Holding Dr. Aisha Al Mahri, and Director of Physical Education at Al Ain British Academy, affiliated with Al Dar Educational Foundation, Zidane Williams.
For his part, Secretary General of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Arif Hamad Al Awani, stressed that the continuous support provided by the wise leadership to the sports sector contributed to consolidating sports gains and strengthened the advanced position that the UAE occupies at the regional and international levels.
Al-Awani expressed his pride in the great success achieved by the fourth edition of the UAE Women’s Tour, which witnessed the participation of an elite group of the world’s most prominent professional female cyclists, continuing its distinguished presence on the UCI race calendar, as the only international race for women in the Middle East.
Al-Awani congratulated Elissa Longo Borghini, leader of the Emirates ADQ team, on the occasion of winning the title of the fourth edition of the Tour, praising the high technical level and strong competition that prevailed in the four stages of the Tour, stressing that these levels reflect the growing status of the Tour as one of the most prominent global races on the agenda of the International Federation, and the distinguished indicators and numbers it has achieved.
Al-Awani said: “The Women’s UAE Tour has been a successful model in terms of organization and technical level, and we look forward to continuing this momentum by organizing the eighth edition of the Men’s UAE Tour, with the participation of an elite group of international riders, during the period from February 16 to 22.”
Al-Awani also appreciated the efforts of the event’s sponsors, strategic partners, supporters, and relevant government agencies, praising the active role of volunteers from the UAE who contributed their efforts to the success of the event and its honorable outcome.
In turn, Borghini, who won the Tour for the third time, said: “This victory definitely tastes great. As a team, we wanted very much to win here, and on a personal level, climbing Jebel Hafeet holds a special place in my heart. My team gave me the best possible support. We came here not completely sure of my physical level, as we dealt with the preparations this winter with a kind of calm, so winning this year was a little more difficult than last year. I am very, very happy, and I thank my coach and everyone who stands behind me. My competitions have begun. On the attack, I love a challenge, so I entered the race atmosphere and maintained my calm until I noticed that the female racers started to feel tired. I salute all the participants who made a beautiful race in the climb. I felt great joy when crossing the finish line.