Jens Reynders is a 27-year-old Belgian cyclist still searching for a professional contract for 2026 after six seasons in the peloton. As an Under 23 rider, he finished third in the 2019 Paris-Roubaix won by Pidcock, then raced for Hagens Berman of Merckx, Israel and last year with the Belgian Professional team Wagner Bazin. To avoid being unemployed, he chose a unique way to continue racing and stay active: he has now signed with the Qatar cycling team, an amateur formation. Meanwhile, he had a stroke of luck: Patrick Lefevere, who is the temporary manager of the Dubai Police Cycling team, a club born within the Dubai Police, became interested in him. Lefevere called Reynders who last Sunday, wearing the occasional jersey of this team, finished fourth in a race in Dubai (won by the 20-year-old Venetian Alessandro Borgo, a professional with Bahrain, at an average of 46 km/h) and won a prize of 19,000 euros (80,000 dirhams). Not bad.

This is a story from the Emirates, where cycling is growing increasingly and opportunities for those wanting to turn it into a profession are increasing. The race is called the Al Salam Championship, 200 km between Dubai and the Al Marmoon Nature Reserve, through the desert.

At the start, professionals like Mohoric, Conti, Van Mechelen, many Bahrain Victorious Development riders and former riders like Vermote, Cerny and Bole. "It was a tough race - confirms Reynders - Patrick Lefevere manages the Dubai Police team perfectly and has great reputation in our country. He found me through Serry, who recently retired and with whom I regularly train. My temporary team paid for the flight and hotel, and there was a substantial prize pool waiting for me: 900,000 dirhams. In the five-rider sprint, I had a 54-tooth chainring against others sprinting with 56, and this unfortunately took away any hope of victory".

While waiting for a call, Reynders will race with the Qatar cycling team on road and gravel: "At the moment, my participation in the Tour of Sharjah is confirmed, a five-day race - category 2.2 of the UCI calendar - starting Friday in the United Arab Emirates. The rest of my program will depend mainly on the gravel races I'll participate in. Here I met numerous World Tour teams, they were interested in me, but the merger between Lotto and Intermarché didn't help me, nor did the closure of Arkea. There were a large number of available riders and I myself didn't manage to get results in 2025 due to a knee fracture. Of course, I'm still open to an offer from a professional team, but only under the right conditions".