Team ADQ’s Longo Borghini secures third UAE Tour Women title with victory at Jebel Hafeet

For the third time in four editions, it was Elisa Longo Borghini who claimed the Unity Trophy at the UAE Tour Women.

The Italian national champion prevailed on the traditional uphill finish at Jebel Hafeet, breaking her rivals’ resistance after a series of attacks, the final one coming with 3kms to go. It was there that the UAE Team ADQ rider dropped Kasia Niewiadoma and rode solo to her third career victory on this climb.

Borghini secured a commanding and well-deserved victory in the fourth and final mountain stage, which began at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, wound through the iconic landmarks of the Al Ain region, and concluded with the summit finish atop Jebel Hafeet.

The triumph sealed her third overall title, adding to her previous victories in 2023 and 2025.

The Polish rider, winner of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes, was later caught and overtaken by Monica Trinca Colonel and Femke De Vries, who completed both the stage podium and the overall general classification podium.

Longo Borghini said: “It means a lot to win the UAE Tour for the third time, moreover for the second time in a row with UAE Team ADQ. It’s the home team! They care about this race. If last year we came fully prepared with a very good shape, this year I had just a regular winter, I worked a lot on my based. Today was my very first all out this year.

“It was a bit harder to win this year but it tastes very good. Up the climb, I just embraced the game they were playing. It was fun. I was waiting for best moment to attack. When I felt it was a good one, I went. It wasn’t the place where I could drop everybody, but a bit further I looked around and I saw Kasia [Niewiadoma] with a pretty tired face so I hit once more. I was pretty sure I’d go again alone.

“I finished at my own pace and I could enjoy the finish. We had a plan this morning to tackle the climb with Karlijn [Swinkels] and Silvia [Persico] but Amanda Spratt attacked a bit earlier than the 4km to go mark. Quickly, everything went chaotic there. I let them play the game and I played mine. I had no reason to panic,” she added.

The fourth edition of the UAE Tour Women 2026 concluded successfully after four stages, covering a total distance of 533 km, with the participation of 120 riders from 20 world-class teams, featuring elite professional cyclists from around the globe.

Runner up Trinca Colonel said: “Having finished fourth last year, I wanted to improve my result and I’m very happy with this second place. I did my best. I normally suffer on the attacks up a climb but today I felt good. I understood that the others weren’t better than me today. My dream now is to win a Worl dTour race like the UAE Tour, but for now, this second place is very important for me.”

De Vries said: “It’s really the best result of my career. I worked the whole winter with the team to be at my best here. The time bonus I got on stage 1 gave me confidence and showed my ambition.”

In the other classifications, Lorena Wiebes successfully defended the Green Jersey, while young Italian riders Eleonora Ciabocco and Sara Luccon claimed the White Jersey and the Black Jersey respectively .

Fatima Mohamed Al Hammadi, Chief Commercial Officer at Kezad Group, Dr. Meera Saeed Al Kaabi, Acting President of the National Academy for Childood Develpoment, Aref Hamad Al Awani, General Secretary of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Talal Mustafa Al Hashemi, Executive Director of Events Section at Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Mansoor Bu Osaiba, Chairman of the UAE Cycling Federation, Dr. Ahmed Alqubaisi, Assistant General Secretary of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, gave away the prizes.