After the races in Australia, the Central American tour in El Salvador and the first competitions in Spain, the women's cycling calendar presents the UAE Tour Women. Structured in four stages, the competition will start tomorrow and conclude on Sunday 8th with the iconic uphill finish at Jebel Hafeet: this will be the place where we'll meet the new queen of the Emirati race, which this year celebrates its fourth edition.

Last season, the scepter was held by Elisa Longo Borghini, who won at Jebel Hafeet and took the overall classification, repeating her 2023 success. Behind the Italian champion last year were her UAE Team ADQ teammate Silvia Persico and Mauritian Kim Le Court, with Monica Trinca Colonel in fourth position.

THE ROUTE. As mentioned, the most altitude-challenging stage will be the final one, while the first three on paper seem to favor sprinters. However, caution is advised: the wind could disrupt the plans of various teams. Readers of tuttobiciweb will certainly remember the stage ending in Al Mirfa and the long "team" breakaway by UAE Team ADQ together with Wiebes and Williams (who finished first and second after a narrow sprint, ed).

The first stage of the 2026 edition will start from Al Mirfa, with the finish in Madinat Zayed after 111 kilometers of racing, including a desert section and two Intermediate Sprints.

On Friday, the athletes will compete in Dubai over 145 kilometers: the stage will start at the Police Academy and finish at Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University. The following day, the stage will take place around Abu Dhabi: the start will be at TeamLab Phenomena, with the finish at Abu Dhabi Breakwater, a usual finish line for the UAE Tour Women (in 2023 Kool won, the following season Kopecky, and last year Wiebes prevailed, ed).

And here we are at the final stage, from Al Ain Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium to Jebel Hafeet. The route guide indicates the stage will cover a total of 156 kilometers, but the last 10 will be challenging and decisive, with climbs reaching maximum gradients of 11%.

THE FAVORITES. The Emirati race will mark the seasonal debut for Elisa Longo Borghini who will arrive after a high-altitude preparation period, alongside Silvia Persico, recently third in the Marratxi-Felanitx, with a team that will certainly be a protagonist. Kim Le Court will return to racing, with the captain's role for AG Insurance - Soudal Team and a renewed Mauritian national champion jersey, accompanied by a "second point" for the general classification like Justine Ghekiere. At Liv AlUla Jayco, Monica Trinca Colonel will try to improve on last year's placement.

In the list of possible protagonists, we also include Marlen Reusser. The Swiss Movistar rider placed second in the Trofeo Marratxi-Felanitx, showing she doesn't fear Squiban's uphill attacks; supporting her in this trip will be the Ossolana Francesca Barale, at her first stage race with the new team. Eleonora Ciabocco will also wear a number for the first time in 2026, who, as she stated in the January interview with tuttoBICI, has chosen the UAE Women Tour with Team Picnic PostNL to kick off a season she hopes will be important for her. We'll close the overview of top 10 general classification contenders with Polish Kasia Niewiadoma, captain of CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto, and Anna van der Breggen for SD Worx Protime.

Among the Dutch team's ranks for this UAE Women Tour is also Lorena Wiebes, guided by Barbara Guarischi, who will try to increase her stage wins in this race (she holds the record with 6, ed). Many will try to challenge the Dutch sprinter: Charlotte Kool will be there, who after leaving Picnic PostNL for Fenix last summer has only raced Binche Chimay Binche, finishing fourth, and Rachele Barbieri, who will return to battle for sprint victories in her new role at Picnic PostNL. There will also be Chiara Consonni in CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto jersey and Martina Alzini for Cofidis, Silvia Zanardi and Daria Pikulik for Human Powered Health, Arlenis Sierra from Movistar or Swiss Linda Zanetti for Uno-X Mobility.

Before diving into the competition from tomorrow, we'd like to highlight the presence of two very young Italian teams at the UAE Women Tour: Top Girl Fassa Bortolo and Vini Fantini Bepink. The Veneto team will start with a roster with an average age of 21 years, while the Lombard team will field a sextet with an average age of 22 years.

THE STAGES (elevation profiles in the gallery)

05.02.2026 Stage 1 Al Mirfa-Madinat Zayed, 111 km

06.02.2026 Stage 2 Dubai Police Academy-Hamdan Bin Mohamed Smart University, 145 km

07.02.2026 Stage 3 Abu Dhabi TeamLab Phenomena-Abu Dhabi Breakwater, 121 km

08.02.2026 Stage 4 Al Ain Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium-Jebel Hafeet, 156 km