Elisa Longo Borghini claims double victory in UAE Tour finale
Elisa Longo Borghini can call herself the overall winner of the UAE Tour Women for the third time in her career. The Italian champion won the final stage and the general classification after a fierce battle on the slopes of Jebel Hafeet. Femke de Vries also impressed in the finale. The rider from Visma | Lease a Bike finished third in both the stage and the overall standings.
After three relatively flat stages – and three impressive sprint victories by the unstoppable Lorena Wiebes – Sunday was already time for the sporting climax of the UAE Tour Women. And what a climax it was, because the final stage was made for climbers. The finish line was drawn on the slopes of Jebel Hafeet. On this famous queen stage (11.7 km at 8%), the cream of the crop would be separated from the rest.
How strong is the lone rider?
But before that, the peloton first had to get through a long, flat approach to the base of the final climb. This was the cue for Sara Luccon to break away, hoping to start Jebel Hafeet with a lead. The Italian was apparently the only rider brave enough to attack, but Luccon was undeterred and embarked on a courageous solo effort.
Lorena Wiebes started the final stage as the race leader - photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos[/caption]
The attack by the Top Girls Fassa Bortolo rider was, however, doomed from the start. With just over a hundred kilometers to go, the brave but exhausted Italian was caught once again. The next rider to try was Amber van der Hulst, but the Dutch rider from VolkerWessels also couldn’t hold the front alone for long.
Epic battle among the top contenders
In short, the real spectacle was only waiting for the first climbing sections of Jebel Hafeet. On the approach to this climb, the pace was pushed hard, but the real selection was made only in the last kilometer. Led by UAE Team ADQ – working for the top favorite Elisa Longo Borghini – one rider after another was dropped. The queen of wins in the past days – Wiebes – had to let go.
photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
Where Wiebes dropped off, Amanda Spratt saw her moment to shake things up. The Australian, in her farewell year in the peloton, immediately ran into a counterattack by Longo Borghini. The Italian champion, however, failed to break away, as Kasia Niewiadoma, Kimberley Le Court Pienaar, Niamh Fisher-Black, Monica Trinca-Colonel, and Femke de Vries stayed alert.
De Vries impresses, but just can’t keep up
These six top riders managed to break clear and were evenly matched, which caused the pace to stall several times. Trinca-Colonel was not willing to let that happen and attacked repeatedly. This proved fatal for Le Court’s chances: the Mauritian rider was completely dropped and fell back to a group with her teammate Justine Ghekiere. These chasers, by the way, were not entirely out of the picture yet, given the still small gaps.
In fact, Ghekiere appeared to be pulling her teammate Le Court back to the leaders, but right at that moment Longo Borghini unleashed all her power. With an impressive acceleration, she put the competition under pressure. No one seemed able to follow, except for an exceptionally strong De Vries. The Dutch rider from Visma | Lease a Bike seemed to close the gap meter by meter to Longo Borghini, but the latter was just a bit tougher.
photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
Stage and overall win for Longo Borghini
While De Vries overextended herself and had to recover, Niewiadoma made one last attempt to follow Longo Borghini. The Italian was, however, not willing to contest the sprint with the Pole and managed to ride away with yet another acceleration. Niewiadoma was caught and dropped by Trinca-Colonel and De Vries, who had found her second wind.
All this took place in the shadow of Longo Borghini, who soloed impressively to stage and overall victory. The 34-year-old rider thus claimed the multi-stage race title for the third time – after previous overall wins in 2023 and 2025. Her compatriot Trinca-Colonel finished second on the day, with De Vries crossing the line third. This is also the order of the final general classification.
Watch the finish of Elisa Longo Borghini here:
A home race masterclass 🤩🙌
Elisa Longo Borghini and UAE Team ADQ with perfect tactics to claim both the final stage and overall in the UAE 👌 pic.twitter.com/uW0EFCYzrR
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) February 8, 2026
