AS FAST AS THE WIND

Lorena Wiebes strikes again in a record-breaking stage (48.407 km/h).  Elisa Longo Borghini gains ground ahead of the stage finish of Jebel Hafeet

Al Mirfa, 7 February 2025 – Lorena Wiebes doubled her personal tally with a second consecutive victory at Al Mirfa – her fifth win out of ten stages of the UAE Tour Women history. Unlike her previous sprint victories, this triumph came from a long breakaway launched early in the stage where the European champion rode together with Elisa Longo Borghini, Lara Gillespie, Karlijn Swinkels, and Lily Williams. The five riders worked together throughout the stage before contesting the final sprint, where Wiebes proved unstoppable once again. The powerful crosswinds played a crucial role, splitting the peloton and leaving several GC contenders behind. The first chasing group, at 1’26”, included Juliette Labous and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, while behind them Mavi Garcia and Antonia Niedermaier finished at 2’18”. Tomorrow the riders will head to Jebel Hafeet for the only uphill finish of this edition.

Lorena Wiebes was awarded the Red Jersey by H.E. Mubarak Abdullah Al Mansoori – Executive Director of the Support Service Sector at Ruler’s Representative of the Court in Al Dhafra Region – and Mrs. Shamsa Saif Al Hanaee – Media Director in Abu Dhabi Sports Council

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 – Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx – Protime)
2 – Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ) at 13″
3 – Lily Williams (Human Powered Health) at 14″

Stage winner Lorena Wiebes was awarded by Hamed Al Hamli – Lieutenent Colonnel from Al Dhafra Police – and H.E. Aref Hamad Al Awani – General Secretary of Abu Dhabi Sports Council

STAGE RESULTS
1 – Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx – Protime), 111km in 2h17’35”, average speed 48.407 km/h
2 – Lily Williams (Human Powered Health) s.t.
3 – Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ) s.t.

THE OFFICIAL JERSEYS

The leader jerseys of the UAE Tour Women are provided by ALÉ

• Red Jersey, leader of the General Classification, sponsored by International Holding Company: IHC – Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx – Protime)
• Green Jersey, leader of the Points Classification, sponsored by MODON – Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx – Protime) – worn by Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ)
• White Jersey, Best Young Rider, sponsored by TAQA – Julie De Wilde (Fenix-Deceuninck)
• Black Jersey, leader of the Intermediate Sprint Classification, sponsored by ALDAR – Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Lorena Wiebes was awarded with the Green Jersey by H.E. Saeed Salem Al Mazrouie  Executive Director of the Citizens Affairs Sector at Ruler’s Representative of the Court in Al Dhafra Region – and Mr. Jamie Dean – Executive Sports Director at MODON

Speaking in the press conference, the stage winner and Red Jersey Lorena Wiebes said: “I like to race here because there are a lot of sprint finishes but today it wasn’t really a sprint. It was very chaotic at the start and once I joined the front group, I looked back and realised we were only five riders. Then I thought it could be a very long day. But it wasn’t so long at the end because we rode very fast. Once we got three minutes, I started to believe that we could stay away. With three riders of UAE, I felt comfortable because I knew that four riders of SD Worx-Protime were in the group behind me. I was happy that we stayed away. As we still had one minute lead close to the finish, I started thinking of winning from that group of five. I don’t intend to give it all tomorrow because I deeply want to win the last stage”.

Julie De Wilde was awarded the White Jersey by H.E. Hamed Abdullah Al Mansoori – Executive Director of the Protocol and Ceremonies at Ruler’s Representative of the Court in Al Dhafra Region – and Mrs. Noura Al Mansoori – Al Dhafra Cultural Site Section Head

The White Jersey Julie De Wilde said: “It’s been a long since we last saw echelons in a race but I was happy that iit went that way today. It made a nice fight. When the peloton split, I realised that I was the first chasing group as I saw only three riders behind me. It felt good. I wasn’t concerned about the other young riders. I wasn’t thinking of the white jersey. I was more focused on the sprint but I was a bit locked in. It’s a nice surprise to end up with the best young rider position. I had a bad crash last year so I was a bit angry that I didn’t improve my cycling as much as I wanted to. After my rehab, I worked hard this winter and it’s nice to see my shape is getting better now. For tomorrow, I think there are much better climbers than me but it’ll be nice to race with the White Jersey and the UAE Tour is a good preparation for the upcoming races in Belgium”.

Karlijn Swinkels was awarded the Black Jersey by Ms. Reem Musabeh Al Mansoori – Consultant at Ruler’s Representative of the Court in Al Dhafra Region – and Ms. Muneera Mohamad Al Mehri – Sponsorship Section Head in Abu Dhabi Sports Council

The Black Jersey Karlijn Swinkels said: “For sure it was the plan to go full gas from the start. We were prepared for the crosswinds but it wasn’t the plan to be only five riders in the lead. We had a tough day but we had a plan to give time to Elisa [Longo Borghini] and she’s happy to start tomorrow’s stage with an advantage of one and a half minutes. She’s stong in the mountains but she’s also very strong in the crosswinds. I guess she’ll have a bit less stress tomorrow. We were never really sure to stay away but we thought we could when the difference was two minutes. If we managed to keep the pace high, it would be hard for them to close the gap. In the last part, we gave all the energy we had left so the gap would be as big as possible. I think we did a really good job as a team. I don’t think the Black Jersey is a goal for us. I only went for it to favour Elisa with the bonus seconds. The Black Jersey is the warmest one so it’s not what Elisa wanted to wear up to Jebel Hafeet. But we hope that after tomorrow, she’ll wear the Red Jersey”.

STATISTICS

• Lorena Wiebes is the only rider with back-to-back wins at the UAE Tour Women, and she did it twice: in the first two stages last year and this year.
• 5 stage wins for Lorena Wiebes at the UAE Tour Women: 50% of all the stages run so far in the history of the race.
• Lily Williams equalled her best result as a pro, a 2nd place she had scored previously in the 2018 White Spot / Delta Road Race on the 8th of July.
• The 5 riders in the break averaged 48,407 km/h, a new record for the UAE Tour Women, beating the 45,770 km/h set in Madinat Zayed last year, always by Lorena Wiebes.

TOMORROW’S STAGE
STAGE 3, AL AIN QASR AL MUWAIJI-JEBEL HAFEET, 152 KM – AL AIN STAGE

The route

The classic mountain stage of the UAE Tour Women. In the first part, the route winds its way through Al Ain, where many of its landmarks (Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, UAE University) are visited, then takes a long ride through the desert along Truck Road E30 and eventually returns to Green Mubazzarah. Here begins the final climb of Jebel Hafeet, which – at 10 km long – will be the final judge of the race.

Final kilometres

The final climb winds through wide-ranging hairpin bends on a 3-lane roadway. Gradients are mainly around 8-9%, peaking at 11% with 3 km to go. There is a very short descent in the last km, before the closing ramp. The finish line is on straight asphalt.

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Photo Credits: Sprint Cycling Agency