UAE Team Emirates-XRG Shines, Tops Three Global Cycling Races
Muhammad Irfan
Published August 23, 2026 | 07:30 PM
CAPITALS, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM – 23rd Aug, 2026)
Pogačar begins Vuelta in perfect fashion, as UAE Team Emirates-XRG mount impressive team attack at the Deutschland Tour and Stella wins at Tour de l’Avenir
On his adopted home roads of Monaco, Tadej Pogačar began the Vuelta a España in perfect fashion by winning stage 1 by less than a second. Pipping Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step) to the day’s victory by just 0.09 seconds, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man takes the red race leader’s jersey for the first time in his career.
As the penultimate rider down the start ramp, all eyes were on Pogačar on Saturday evening, with the Slovenian making his first appearance at the Vuelta since 2019. The reigning two-time world champion would not disappoint. Powering along the 9.4km-long course, Pogačar was two seconds down on Hayter at the intermediate time split, but upped his pace in the second half of the route. By the finish, it was a tense encounter as the seconds ticked by. Hayter, who had recently removed Josh Tarling (Netcompany INEOS) from the hot seat, could be proud of his efforts, but was forced to settle for second place.
As for Pogačar, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider put all of his local knowledge to great use across an incredibly technical course. Ramping up his effort through the back straight, the five-time Tour de France champion narrowly edged out Hayter and claimed his fourth career Vuelta stage win. For the 27-year-old, it is his 36th Grand Tour stage victory, adding to the six Giro d’Italia and 26 Tour de France stage wins in his illustrious palmarès. Returning to the Vuelta for the first time since his third-place finish as a Grand Tour rookie in 2019, the Slovenian tops the general classification after the first day of racing.
Elsewhere, UAE Team Emirates-XRG made a strong showing across the board in Monaco, with Jay Vine, Ivo Oliveira, and João Almeida all finishing inside the top 20 in stage 1 ITT.
- Vuelta a España 2026 general classification after stage 1:
Isaac del Toro made an audacious attack on stage 3 of the Lidl Deutschland Tour and regained the race leader’s jersey. The Mexican finished second to his good friend Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) on Saturday afternoon, and moves into the race lead with a handsome advantage of 52 seconds.
It was a super team display from UAE Team Emirates-XRG, with the Emirati squad instrumental in setting up Del Toro’s move. Earlier in the afternoon, Nils Politt and Vegard Stake Laengen had neutralised a dangerous breakaway of 12 riders, before the pair unleashed an infernal pace heading into the day’s toughest climb at 36km to go. Thanks to their efforts, António Morgado was at the head of the race to deliver the final stinging lead-out for Del Toro. By the time the Mexican made his move, many of his direct rivals in the general classification had been dropped.
