There was both a feeling of déjà vu and the sensation of witnessing a new dawn when Elisa Longo Borghini conquered the Jebel Hafeet on Saturday. The Italian star had already risen to victory on the same slopes in the United Arab Emirates when she ruled the inaugural edition of the UAE Tour Women, back in February 2023. Since then, she has experienced spectacular ups, including victory in the Giro d’Italia Women, and downs, with nagging physical struggles.
But Longo Borghini managed to hit the reset button and come back stronger than ever. On Saturday, the third day of the UAE Tour Women, she was dominant again, but with new colours, those of UAE Team ADQ, the team she’s now tasked to lead to the highest summits of the UCI Women’s WorldTour, in the wake of her leading performances for Lidl-Trek.
“I’m proud because the UAE Tour Women is our home race,” Longo Borghini said after she sealed the overall victory on Sunday. “At the beginning of the season, the team made a clear call that we had to be fit for this race. But winning the GC [general classification] plus the second place and the intermediate sprint and team classifications, it’s incredible.”
Flying through the wind
A strong UAE Team ADQ, led by Longo Borghini and bolstered by new signees Elynor Bäckstedt (also coming from Lidl-Trek) and Sofie van Rooijen, ruled the third UCI Women’s WorldTour event of the year, which took the stars of the peloton from Australia to the United Arab Emirates. But it was a very well-established force that powered to victory on the first day of the race: Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx - Protime), 4th in the 2024 UCI Women’s Individual World Ranking, behind Longo Borghini.
“I first want to thank my team-mates and tell them that I’m still the fastest at the moment,” said the Dutch arrow, who is very much used to winning in the UAE, having already done so in 2023 (one stage) and 2024 (two stages). This time, she went on to sprint to victory on three occasions, backing up her inaugural success in Dubai with more wins in Al Mirfa (stage 2) and at the Abu Dhabi Breakwater (stage 4).
But Stage 2 had much more to offer than a straightforward sprint. On a windy day, the riders went flying through the desert, opening early echelons that shattered the peloton to bits with more than 100 kilometres to go. In the end, only five riders remained at the front and Wiebes sprinted to victory ahead of Lily Williams (Human Powered Health). In their wake, three riders from UAE Team ADQ - Lara Gillespie, Karlijn Swinkels and Longo Borghini - had given everything to open as big a gap as possible to the rest of the field.
Their efforts led to the fastest stage in the history of the UAE Tour Women: 48.407km/h. And Longo Borghini gained 1’26’’ on the first group of chasers.
“A masterpiece from UAE Team ADQ”
Following their masterclass through the wind, the Italian Champion and her teammates ruled Jebel Hafeet, with Silvia Persico setting the pace before Longo Borghini went solo for the last 3 kilometres. Mauritian Patricia Kimberley Le Court de Billot (AG Insurance - Soudal Team) completed the podium behind the two dominant Italians.
“We can call it a masterpiece from UAE Team ADQ,” Longo Borghini celebrated. “There was a moment when Silvia [Persico] and I were caught up in an echelon and Elynor Bäckstedt brought us back in a second and the whole team committed to put us in the best position at the bottom of the climb, then Persico rode a steady tempo. I felt very comfortable the whole climb. When I thought it was the time, I attacked and I went full gas.”
The Italian finished in the bunch in the fourth and final stage, won by Wiebes, to deliver overall victory in her very first race with UAE Team ADQ. She can now turn to the rest of a very ambitious season. “I will try to defend my title at the Giro d'Italia [Women] and try to win the Tour de France [Femmes avec Zwift] and one of the Ardennes”, she announced when she joined her new team. Since then, she’s also circled the dates of Strade Bianche Donne (8 March) and the first edition of Milano-Sanremo (22 March). The Classics are coming.