UAE Team Emirates-XRG confirm line-ups for Murcia/Algarve

With the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and Tour of Oman in the rearview mirror, UAE Team Emirates-XRG have announced their lineups for the tests to come across Spain and Portugal. Following a trio of one-day races in the Vuelta a Murcia, Figueira Champions Classic and Clásica Jaén across Saturday to Monday, the Emirati squad will take to the Volta ao Algarve and Vuelta a Andalucía between Wednesday, 19 February and Sunday, 23 February.

In Spain, Tim Wellens will make his first appearance of the season in Europe, with the Belgian’s last stage race on the continent bringing the overall title at the Renewi Tour last year. The 33-year-old will make his bow at the Vuelta a Murcia on Saturday before racing the Clásica Jaén and Vuelta a Andalucía next week.

Across the border in Portugal, meanwhile, recent Volta Valenciana runner-up João Almeida will return to home roads and look to build on a fine start to the season. The Portuguese climber spent a day in the leader’s jersey in Valencia and claimed four successive top-10 finishes. This Sunday, he will race the Figueira Champions Classic before aiming for a strong GC showing at the Volta ao Algarve from 19 February.

Almeida: “Figueira and Algarve are two special races for me – it’s not so often we get to race in Portugal, and it’s always a privilege to count on home support.

“Valenciana was confirmation that the form is good and I took a lot of confidence from that.
The team is really strong, I feel like Algarve can suit me better and we also have young guys like Morgado and Christen who are on form, so we are heading in from a strong position. I can’t wait to get it started.”

Beginning a blockbuster nine-day spell of racing across Spain and Portugal, UAE Team Emirates-XRG will take a team full of climbing talent to the Vuelta a Murcia on Saturday, 15 February. Joining Wellens in making their season bows will be Igor Arrieta and Isaac del Toro, whilst Marc Soler will make his first appearance since the Tour Down Under and Alessandro Covi, Brandon McNulty and Matthias Schwarzbacher will follow on from their recent races in Spain.

Covi is a former winner at this race, having triumphed as part of a UAE Team Emirates 1-2 alongside Matteo Trentin in 2022. He knows what it takes to score a good result here, as does Wellens, who placed third on his first outing of the year last season.

After a neo-pro campaign in which the 21-year-old won the Vuelta Asturias and a stage of the Tour Down Under, there will be excitement for the re-emergence of Del Toro following his winter’s training, with the Mexican a key climber in the sides for both the Vuelta a Murcia and Clásica Jaén. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad for both one-day races – on Saturday and Monday – will remain the same:
Igor Arrieta (Spa)
Alessandro Covi (Ita)
Isaac Del Toro (Mex)
Brandon McNulty (USA)
Matthias Schwarzbacher (Gen Z) (SLK)
Marc Soler (Spa)
Tim Wellens (Bel)

Wellens: ”In the past, the start of the season has always been a good period for me. I usually have good legs, and I hope this year can be similar. My preparation went really well this winter.

“The Ruta Del Sol is a race I won in the past and so I’m always motivated to race there. The Vuelta Murcia was my first time ever racing there last year, but it’s a race I also enjoyed, so I’m happy to go there. Overall, I’m really looking forward to joining the team again, getting back into the race rhythm and starting the season with great motivation.”

Rounding out next week’s action in Spain, Wellens, Arrieta, Covi and Soler will also head to the Vuelta a Andalucía between 19-23 February, where Vegard Stake Laengen, Pavel Sivakov and Pablo Torres will join the quartet. Each day of racing in the region will challenge the peloton with over 2,000m of climbing, promising an exciting five days of racing for the race’s centenary edition.

Otherwise known as the Ruta del Sol, the 2024 Vuelta a Andalucía was significantly curtailed due to local protests; however, at the last uninterrupted edition in 2023, UAE Team Emirates-XRG walked away with the overall title through Tadej Pogačar. With the Slovenian making his season debut at the UAE Tour this time around, the following riders will hope to bring the title back to the Emirati squad:
Igor Arrieta (Spa)
Alessandro Covi (Ita)
Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor)
Pavel Sivakov (Fra)
Marc Soler (Spa)
Pablo Torres (Spa)
Tim Wellens (Bel)

For this Sunday’s one-day Figueira Champions Classic, Almeida will be joined by Felix Grosßchartner and Julius Johansen, the latter of whom spent the majority of his time last year racing on Portuguese soil. The lineup will be rounded out by Jan Christen and Antonio Morgado, both riders who enjoyed fantastic starts to the season and picked up a win apiece during the Challenge Mallorca.

For the Volta ao Algarve, the following riders will hope to take UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s first overall victory in the race since 2019:
João Almeida (Por)
Jan Christen (Swi)
Felix Grosßchartner (AUT)
Antonio Morgado (Por)
Ivo Oliveira (Por)
Rui Oliveira (Por)
Nils Politt (Ger)

For its 51st edition, the 2025 Volta ao Algarve has produced one of its hardest routes in a generation, with the customary final-day ascent of Malhão changed to a 19.6km-long individual time trial. However, before this decisive test against the clock, the riders will face a summit finish atop Alto do Foia on stage 2 and 7,188m of climbing packed into the race’s other three stages.

It is a challenge that Almeida, twice a top-10 finisher in Algarve, is relishing.

“Overall, I’m happy with the first race of the season. I think starting with a second place is not bad at all,” he said after the final stage of the Volta Valenciana. “Now I go back to Portugal with a good amount of confidence and with my eyes on the prize.”

The full schedule in Spain and Portugal is as follows: