Mid-Race Check-In: UAE Tour, Volta ao Algarve & Ruta del Sol

Have the last few days shown us that Tadej Pogačar's UAE team has left their GC rivals in the dust?

The stage racing action has been nonstop this week, with three top week-long races, UAE Tour, Volta ao Algarve, and the Ruta del Sol (Vuelta a Andalucía) all currently running and heading toward their final stages on Sunday (and all available on Max in the US market).

Below, I’ve pulled out a few select highlights and takeaways, from Tadej Pogačar displaying new levels of confidence and dominance at his ‘home’ race, the UAE Tour, to how UAE’s crushing amount of depth and talent has allowed them to outmaneuver and establish an early GC lead on Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič at the Volta ao Algarve, as well as dismantle RedBull-Bora-hansgrohe’s Maxim van Gils early lead in the Ruta del Sol. Mainly, I examine if the young 2025 pro road season has shown us that outside of Pogačar picking up exactly where he left off in 2024, if his UAE team has increased their all-around strength enough to swallow the sport whole.

UAE Tour Stages 3-5