Although Mavi García is already 41 years old, the Spaniard is not planning to stop yet. The experienced stage racer considered announcing her retirement earlier this year but has now reconsidered: with a transfer to UAE Team ADQ, she is returning to familiar territory.
García rode for the Middle Eastern team in 2022 but has spent the last seasons with Liv AlUla Jayco. While racing for the Australian outfit, she achieved several notable results, but this season felt like her second, maybe even third youth.
After a more than commendable spring – highlighted by a fifth place at Strade Bianche – García experienced possibly the most beautiful moment of her career at the Tour de France Femmes. In the second stage to Quimper, after an attack and a solo of about ten kilometers, she narrowly escaped the chasing riders to claim the biggest victory of her cycling career.
Mavi García won a Tour stage in her 'later years' – photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
World Championship medal
It didn’t stop with a stage win at the women’s Tour de France, as García also claimed her first World Championship medal in late September. In a grueling road race on and around Kigali, she could only concede to the surprising world champion Magdeleine Vallieres and Niamh Fisher-Black.
García is certainly not the first addition to UAE Team ADQ with an eye on 2026. The team has already strengthened its roster with Italian top talent Federica Venturelli, the fast American Megan Jastrab, and the Dutch top climber Pauliena Rooijakkers. A familiar new name also appears in the technical staff: Michel Cornelisse will become team director at UAE Team ADQ starting next season.
