Not just Pogacar - UAE is closing in on cycling’s next magical win record

Fresh from an 81-win campaign in 2024, just four shy of the all-time record of 85 set by Columbia-HTC in 2009, UAE Team Emirates-XRG have picked up where they left off. Their victories have come on all terrains and in all corners of the calendar, proof of a squad built to win anywhere, anytime.

The win total now stands at 72, up from 64 at the same point last year. With more than two months of racing still to come, matching last year’s 81 looks likely, and the 85 of Columbia-HTC no longer feels out of reach. For the first time, the once-mythical 100-win barrier is being discussed as a realistic target.

The dominance runs deeper than just the number of wins. In 2025 UAE-XRG have already set a new benchmark, claiming 15 general classification titles - more than any team in history. It is a number that eclipses their own record of 12 from last year, which matched the marks of Jumbo-Visma in 2023, Astana in 2019 and Casino AG2R in 1998.

McNulty’s double in Poland carried more than just personal significance. It delivered his first and second victories of the season and made him the 20th different UAE rider to win in 2025. In doing so, the team matched the all-time record for most different winners in a single season, a mark they themselves set only last year.

That depth is unmatched in the modern era. The previous benchmark was 19, set by Mapei–Quick Step in 2000, while a select group of illustrious squads have reached 18, among them Mapei-GB (1997), Team CSC (2006), Team Columbia (2008) and several iterations of Quick-Step through the years.

At the forefront stands Tadej Pogacar, the team’s undisputed talisman, responsible for 16 victories in 2025 alone. Yet the numbers show this is far from a one-man campaign. With more than two months of racing still to come, only nine riders in the squad are yet to open their account: Mikkel Bjerg, Rune Herregodts, Domen Novak, Julius Johansen, Rui Oliveira, Pablo Torres, Vegard Stake Laengen, Florian Vermeersch and Nils Politt. Several will have chances in the weeks ahead, from the Vuelta a España and Deutschland Tour to the Tour of Britain, BEMER Cyclassics and the Tour of Guangxi.

Whether it ends at 85, 90 or even the mythical 100, UAE Emirates-XRG’s 2025 season is already carving its place in the sport’s modern history.

Stats by Cycling Statistics