Feb 23, 2025 Press Conference

TADEJ POGACAR SECURES HIS THIRD UAE TOUR CROWN

The world champions triumphs for the fourth time at Jebel Hafeet to seal his third GC victory. Ciccone and Bilbao join him on the final podium

Tadej Pogacar was awarded the Red Jersey by H.E. Aref Hamed Al Awani – General Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council – and H.E. Dr. Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili – Chairman of the Department of Community Development

Jebel Hafeet, 23 February 2025 – Tadej Pogacar wins the seventh edition of the UAE Tour by attacking 7.7 km from the finish at Jebel Hafeet, where he had already claimed victory in 2020, 2021, and 2022, securing the Unity Trophy for the third time. The world champion put his stamp on an almost perfect week in a stage raced at extremely high speed (47.129 km/h average).The peloton arrived at the foot of the climb in a fragmented state after crosswinds once again disrupted the balance among the contenders. Big names like Felix Gall and 2024 winner Lennert Van Eetvelt were caught in the second group and could not regain contact with the 42 riders left at front.

UAE Team Emirates – XRG set a relentless pace at the base of the climb, splitting the lead group once more and setting the stage for Pogacar’s decisive attack. Only Giulio Ciccone and Oscar Onley managed to stay on his wheel, even if only for 200 metres. The Lidl-Trek rider crossed the line 32” behind the Red Jersey, finishing 3” ahead of Pello Bilbao, who secured his third career podium at the UAE Tour. In the other classifications, Jonathan Milan confirmed his Green Jersey, Djordje Djuric retained the Black Jersey, and Ivan Romeo claimed the White Jersey after Joshua Tarling struggled at the start of the climb.

Tadej Pogacar jumped from 89 to 91 professional wins today: the stage win was his 90th, the GC his 91st.

Speaking immediately after being presented with the Red Jersey and the race winner’s trophy on the podium, Tadej Pogacar said: “Today’s race was just suffering until 2km to go when I could relax a bit and try to enjoy the last kilometres, thinking of seeing my family at the finish. It’s nice to finish the UAE Tour like this. For now, I’m glad I’ve won the first race of the season and I can enjoy from now on, going to the classics. I don’t mind if everything goes as smooth as last year. I was in a pretty good shape in Milano-Sanremo last year. This year I’m hoping for luck and finding the good moment in the race to get rid of the sprinters”.

The GC podium was awarded by Mr. Mohammed Bin Bouta Al Marsousi – Ceo of Cybergate Defense – H.E. Dr. Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili – Chairman of the Department of Community Development – Mr. Omran Al Khoori – Executive Director and Member of the Board of Directors at Burjeel Holdings – Colonel Saeed Ali Al Hassani – Deputy Security Patrol Affairs at Al Ain Police – H.E. Rashed Al Manyi – General Manager at Al Ain Municipality – and Mr. Al Nakhira Al Khaili – Executive Director of the Abu Dhabi Cycling Club

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 – Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates – XRG)
2 – Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) at 1’14”
3 – Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) at 1’19”

Stage winner Tadej Pogacar was awarded by H.E. Dr. Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili – Chairman of the Department of Community Development – H.E. Aref Hamed Al Awani – General Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council – Dr. Shamsheer Vayalil – Founder and Chairman of Burjeel Holdings – and Colonel Saeed Ali Al Hassani – Deputy Security Patrol Affairs at Al Ain Police

STAGE RESULTS
1 – Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates – XRG), 176km in 3h44’04”, average speed 47.129 km/h
2 – Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) at 32″
3 – Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) at 35″

Tadej Pogacar was awarded with a Tudor watch

THE OFFICIAL JERSEYS

The leader jerseys of the UAE Tour are provided by ALÉ, with ENIT and ITALIA.IT as proud jersey partners

Red Jersey, leader of the General Classification, sponsored by International Holding Company: IHC – Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates – XRG)
Green Jersey, leader of the Points Classification, sponsored by Mubadala -Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)
White Jersey, Best Young Rider, sponsored by Nakheel – Ivan Romeo (Movistar Team)
Black Jersey, leader of the Intermediate Sprint Classification, sponsored by ALDAR – Djordje Djuric (Solution Tech Vini Fantini)

PRESS CONFERENCE
Speaking at the press conference, runner-up Giulio Ciccone said: “Second place is not a victory but I’m quite happy with it because it was a crazy stage today. I’m happy to finish second to Pogi but I’m also happy with my condition, also about the team. They did a great job. Making the echelon was the hardest part of the stage for me. Podium on GC is the best way to start a new season. Hopefully it will continue like this”.

Third placed Pello Bilbao said: “Tadej Pogačar is so used to make the top step of the podium that it’s an incredible feeling for me to stand on his side. It’s been such a hard job all week. Today I was feeling the pressure. I’ve been on the podium in the past but looking at the other contenders this time, the level was so high that I wasn’t sure at all to make it once again. Today I was alone in the breakaway but I still owe a big thank you to my team for having taken care of me all week long. We have used all our experience to make the biggest possible achievement here”.

Jonathan Milan was awarded the Green Jersey by Mr. Khaled Salem Al Rashedi – Senior Advisor Office of the Chief Corporate and Human – H.E. Dr. Fahad Al Niyadi – Representative from Ruler’s Representative of the Court in Al Ain – and H.E. Talal Al Hashemi – Executive Director of Events Sector at Abu Dhabi Sports Council

The Green Jersey Jonathan Milan said: “For us, it was important to bring Giulio Ciccone in the best possible spot at the bottom of Jebel Hafeet and bring my green jersey home. It was pretty close with Tim Merlier and I thought the best way to make was throughout the first intermediate sprint. Then when the chasing group came across, I kept working with my guys for Ciccone. He delivered a beautiful result today. We came here to win as much as possible. With two stages and the Green Jersey, we achieved a lot in this UAE Tour and we also learnt from some mistakes”.

Ivan Romeo was awarded the White Jersey by Eng. Khalid Al Hashemi – The Executive Director of Tendering and Prequalification Contracts – H.E. Dr. Matar Al Darmaki – Representative from Ruler’s Representative of the Court in Al Ain – and H.E. Talal Al Hashemi – Executive Director of Events Sector at Abu Dhabi Sports Council

The White Jersey Ivan Romeo said: “It means everything to meto be the best young rider at the end of the UAE Tour. The team deserved the third but I gave it all. The way we rode this week is incredible. It makes me super happy. We knew Tadej Pogacar was in another category but Pablo Castrillo paced me up the climb along with Pello [Bilbao]. We knew it was better for to keep that pace. Now we’ll try to win the races when Tadej is not there, we have a new generation of Movistar riders with a big ambition”.

Djordje Djuric was awarded the Black Jersey by Ms. Melissa Anne Claridge – Deputy Head Teacher, Secondary, at Al Ain British Academy – and H.E. Aref Hamed Al Awani – General Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council

The Black Jersey Djordje Djuric: “I attacked again from the start today to secure the intermediate sprints jersey. After I finished second in the first sprint, we tried to stay in the breakaway but it was a very hard race and it was very difficult to arrive atop Jebel Hafeet! It’s nice training bloc before the next races but it’s also very nice to take part in the final price giving ceremony with this top riders like Tadej Pogacar”.

Movistar Team has won the Teams Classification. They were awarded by H.E. Dr. Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili – Chairman of the Department of Community Development

STATISTICS

3rd UAE Tour GC win for Tadej Pogacar.
His rivals are all at 1: Primoz Roglic, Adam Yates, Remco Evenepoel, Lennert Van Eetvelt.
Giulio Ciccone (2nd) is the first Italian who finishes in the top-3 at Jebel Hafeet, and the first one to finish on the final GC podium.
Pello Bilbao finished 3 times on the UAE Tour GC podium, always in 3rd: 2022, 2024, 2025.
The 2025 UAE Tour finishes with the all-time record of stage wins set at 7-6 in favour of Tim Merlier from Tadej Pogacar. They both won 2 stages in this edition.