Beyond the Yellow Jersey: How UAE Team Emirates XRG is Inspiring the Next Generation
As the world’s best team competes in another Tour de France, sporting director Yousif Mirza explains why its greatest legacy may be gathering momentum on roads and tracks across the UAE
Abu Dhabi, UAE – July 10, 2026: Just a week into the 2026 Tour de France, and UAE Team Emirates XRG has made a strong start to its title defense, with Slovenian superstar Tadej Pogačar already claiming two stage victories as he pursues a record-equaling fifth overall title.
Yet the team’s influence is also being felt far from the Tour’s mountain stages and finish lines.
In the UAE’s Year of the Family, a generation of Emirati youngsters are being inspired by the world’s number one cycling team – and by the ever-increasing opportunities to ride, race and discover cycling on UAE soil.
“Now it’s a lifestyle,” Yousif says. “There are hundreds of people out every day at tracks like Al Qudra in Dubai and Hudayriyat in Abu Dhabi. It’s great to see young riders growing up inside that culture.”
Cycling has evolved from a niche sport into a platform for mobility, wellness and talent development. Abu Dhabi is expanding toward a 1,000 kilometers cycling network, including a planned 109km Abu Dhabi Loop linking key locations across the city.
While new infrastructure has laid the foundations, Yousif believes the next phase of cycling’s growth in the UAE depends on collaboration and structured pathways that help young riders progress.
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He cites programs such as ADNOC’s UAE Team Emirates XRG Academy, which provides boys and girls aged 7–12 with structured training and early exposure to cycling, as playing a key role.
The academy has reached more than 15,000 children across 40 schools, broadening the base of young riders coming into the sport.
“ADNOC’s initiatives are very important,” Yousif says. “They don’t just organize events. They help find talent and build a professional environment with long-term planning.”
Race opportunities, he believes, are essential to that journey, making them a key part of his work with the UAE Cycling Federation.
“In the past six months, we’ve organized more than 50 races for kids,” says Yousif, who was born in 1988 in the coastal Sharjah town of Khorfakkan.
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“We now have over 180 registered youth riders, numbers we never saw before,” adds Yousif, who was introduced to cycling at the age of nine by his father and older brother, professional cyclist Badr Mirza.
One of the clearest examples of that pathway is Abdulla Jasim Al Ali, an emerging Emirati cycling star who was discovered through the ADNOC Accelerator Program following a competitive three-day trial in 2022.
In early April this year, Abdulla secured his fourth UAE national time trial title, while in 2025 he stepped onto the European stage at the Vuelta Asturias, his second race start with UAE Team Emirates XRG.
“He is a fighter,” says Yousif. “He’s focused, disciplined and listens. I saw his potential very early. For me, it’s only a matter of time before we see more of him in the UCI WorldTour.”
Such visibility, Yousif believes, is transformative for the next generation of Emirati riders.
“When I was young, I watched riders like Alberto Contador on TV and dreamed of being a professional,” says Yousif, who became the team’s sporting director in 2021. “Now kids here look at riders from the UAE like Abdulla and think, ‘I want to be like him’.”
He adds: “We’re not just a brand. We represent a country. When people see ‘UAE’ on the jersey, it means something.”
Led by riders such as Pogačar, UAE Team Emirates XRG won four Tour de France titles over the past five years, becoming cycling's dominant team.
The co-title and official energy partner sponsorship role played since 2024 by XRG has provided a high-profile international platform for the growing investment company, while supporting healthier lifestyles across the UAE through the joys of cycling. XRG is ADNOC’s wholly-owned investment company.
A father himself, Yousif speaks passionately about cycling’s role beyond competition. He believes sport offers lessons that classrooms cannot always teach.
“It’s not about winning,” he says. “It’s about taking your kids out, riding together, creating memories.
“We talk to kids about eating well, sleeping properly, respecting others, setting goals. It’s education, just in a different way.”
Once the sole Emirati representative at the world’s biggest races, he’s now proudly watching as the peloton grows around him. Asked whether more Emiratis will reach the UCI WorldTour and the ‘A’ Team in UAE Team Emirates XRG Academy, Yousif does not hesitate.
“What started with one Emirati rider has opened the gate for many more,” he replies. “And that, for me, is the real victory.”