UAE Team Emirates

UAE Team Emirates
Team information
UCI code UAD
Registered Italy (1991–2016)
UAE (2017–present)
Founded 1990 (1990)
Discipline Road
Status UCI WorldTeam
Bicycles Colnago
Components Campagnolo
Website Team home page
Key personnel
General manager Giuseppe Saronni
Team manager(s) Fabrizio Bontempi
Team name history
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994–1995
1996
1999–2002
2005
2003–2004
2006–2007
2008
2009
2010
2011–2012
2013–2016
2017
2017-		 Diana–Colnago–Animex
Colnago–Lampre
Lampre–Colnago
Lampre–Polti
Lampre–Panaria
Panaria–Vinavil
Lampre–Daikin
Lampre
Lampre–Caffita
Lampre–Fondital
Lampre
Lampre–NGC
Lampre–Farnese Vini
Lampre–ISD
Lampre–Merida
UAE Abu Dhabi
UAE Team Emirates
Jersey

UAE Team Emirates (UCI team code: UAD) is an Emirati road bicycle racing team. The team is a member of the UCI World Tour, and has been since the tour was formed as the top category of road cycling in 2005. However the team was temporarily suspended from the ProTour in 2010, missing one ProTour event.[1]

The team consists mostly of Italian riders: general manager Giuseppe Saronni was himself a famous professional cyclist and winner of 2 editions of the Giro d'Italia.

History

Following the tradition at Saeco, the team is well known for its publicity stunts. In the 2005 Giro d'Italia the team engaged in a press campaign Battaile d'Italia featuring their co-captains Gilberto Simoni and Damiano Cunego.[2] During a rest day of the Giro, the team elected to visit the Monza race track for a photo-op and some training sessions.

For the 2013 season the team will no longer be using Wilier bikes, but will now ride Merida bikes. Although Wilier had been contracted through to the end of the 2013 season, they cited that Lampre broke the terms and conditions of the contract, and terminated their technical sponsorship.[3]

Transition from an Italian-based team

Chinese involvement

In August 2016 the team confirmed that its WorldTeam licence was being transferred from CGS Cycling to Chinese company TJ Sport Consultation, with the team becoming the first Chinese WorldTour team from 2017. Former Saunier Duval–Prodir team manager Mauro Gianetti was announced as the co-ordinator for the project.[4] In an interview with Gazetta dello Sport the following month, Saronni confirmed that he and CGS Cycling would continue to manage the team on TJ Sport's behalf, and that the team's bicycles would be supplied by Colnago. He indicated that the project was being co-ordinated by the Chinese government via TJ Sport with involvement from a number of Chinese companies including Alibaba, and that its aim was to develop Chinese cycling and riders.[5] However when the UCI awarded 17 WorldTour licences to teams in November, it announced that TJ Sport's application was "under review" by its Licensing Commission.[6] According to Saronni, the reason for the delay was that the head of the TJ Sport project, Li Zhiqiang, had fallen seriously ill, which prevented funding for the project from being confirmed.

Emirati rescue

As a result, the team looked elsewhere for sponsorship, securing funding from the United Arab Emirates and changing its name to UAE Abu Dhabi. The UCI confirmed the team's WorldTour licence on 20 December.[7] In February 2017, the team announced that airline Emirates had signed on with the team as a naming-rights sponsor. The team will subsequently be known as: UAE Team Emirates.[8] In June 2017, two days before the 2017 Tour de France the team announced it would also be sponsored by the First Abu Dhabi Bank, an amalgamation of the First Gulf Bank and the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, with their logo being added to the chest and side of the team's jersey.[9]

Team roster

As of 4 January 2018.[10][11]
Rider Date of birth
 Anass Aït El Abdia (MAR) (1993-03-21) 21 March 1993
 Fabio Aru (ITA) (1990-07-03) 3 July 1990
 Darwin Atapuma (COL) (1988-01-15) 15 January 1988
 Matteo Bono (ITA) (1983-11-11) 11 November 1983
 Sven Erik Bystrøm (NOR) (1992-01-21) 21 January 1992
 Simone Consonni (ITA) (1994-09-12) 12 September 1994
 Valerio Conti (ITA) (1993-03-30) 30 March 1993
 Rui Costa (POR) (1986-10-05) 5 October 1986
 Kristijan Đurasek (CRO) (1987-07-26) 26 July 1987
 Roberto Ferrari (ITA) (1983-03-09) 9 March 1983
 Filippo Ganna (ITA) (1996-07-25) 25 July 1996
 Alexander Kristoff (NOR) (1987-07-05) 5 July 1987
 Vegard Stake Laengen (NOR) (1989-02-07) 7 February 1989
Rider Date of birth
 Marco Marcato (ITA) (1984-02-11) 11 February 1984
 Dan Martin (IRE) (1986-08-20) 20 August 1986
 Yousif Mirza (UAE) (1988-10-08) 8 October 1988
 Manuele Mori (ITA) (1980-08-09) 9 August 1980
 Przemysław Niemiec (POL) (1980-04-11) 11 April 1980
 Simone Petilli (ITA) (1993-05-04) 4 May 1993
 Jan Polanc (SLO) (1992-05-06) 6 May 1992
 Edward Ravasi (ITA) (1994-06-05) 5 June 1994
 Alexandr Riabushenko (BLR) (1995-10-12) 12 October 1995
 Rory Sutherland (AUS) (1982-02-08) 8 February 1982
 Ben Swift (GBR) (1987-11-05) 5 November 1987
 Oliviero Troia (ITA) (1994-09-01) 1 September 1994
 Diego Ulissi (ITA) (1989-07-15) 15 July 1989

Major wins

National champions

1999
Belgian Road Race, Ludo Dierckxsens
2000
South African Time Trial, Robbie Hunter
Latvian Time Trial, Raivis Belohvoščiks
2001
Latvian Time Trial, Raivis Belohvoščiks
2002
Latvian Time Trial, Raivis Belohvoščiks
Latvian Road Race, Raivis Belohvoščiks
2005
Austrian Road Race, Gerrit Glomser
2006
Italian Time Trial, Marzio Bruseghin
2007
Slovenian Road Race, Tadej Valjavec
2008
World Road Race, Alessandro Ballan
2011
Slovenian Road Race, Grega Bole
Ukrainian Road Race, Oleksandr Kvachuk
Ukrainian Time Trial, Oleksandr Kvachuk
Italian Time Trial, Adriano Malori
2014
Portuguese Time Trial, Nelson Oliveira
Portuguese Road Race, Nelson Oliveira
2015
Portuguese Time Trial, Nelson Oliveira
Ethiopian Road Race, Tsgabu Grmay
Ethiopian Time Trial, Tsgabu Grmay
Portuguese Road Race, Rui Costa
Slovenian Road Race, Luka Pibernik
Taiwanese Road Race, Feng Chun-kai
Taiwanese Time Trial, Feng Chun-kai
2017
UAE Time Trial, Yousif Mirza
UAE Road Race, Yousif Mirza
Slovenian Time Trial, Jan Polanc
European Track (Individual pursuit), Filippo Ganna
2018
World Track (Individual pursuit), Filippo Ganna
UAE Time Trial, Yousif Mirza
UAE Road Race, Yousif Mirza
Norwegian Road Race, Vegard Stake Laengen

References

  1. ↑ "Lampre granted temporary ProTour license - Cyclingnews.com". cyclingnews.com.
  2. ↑ "Team Lampre". Zimbio. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
  3. ↑ "Team Lampre". Zimbio. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  4. ↑ "TJ Sport Consultation to take over Lampre-Merida's WorldTour licence". cyclingnews.com. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  5. ↑ Farrand, Stephen (3 September 2016). "Saronni reveals details of the new Chinese WorldTour team". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  6. ↑ Farrand, Stephen (13 December 2016). "New sponsor set to save TJ Sport team after problems with Chinese backers". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  7. ↑ "Saronni reveals how he secured UAE Abu Dhabi's WorldTour licence". cyclingnews.com. 26 December 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  8. ↑ "Fly Emirates to sponsor UAE Abu Dhabi team - Cyclingnews.com". cyclingnews.com.
  9. ↑ "UAE Team Emirates brings on new sponsor ahead of Tour de France - Cyclingnews.com". cyclingnews.com.
  10. ↑ "UAE Team Emirates confirm 25-rider squad for 2018". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  11. ↑ "L'esperto Przemyslaw Niemiec rinnova il contratto con la UAE Team Emirates" [The experienced Przemyslaw Niemiec renews contract with UAE Team Emirates]. Cicloweb.it (in Italian). Cicloweb. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.

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