UAE Team Emirates-XRG announces line-ups for the Challenge Mallorca

UAE Team Emirates-XRG is pleased to announce its lineups for the five races that make up the Challenge Mallorca, with both WorldTour riders and Gen Z athletes ready to take to the start line in Spain.

First up for the Emirati squad will be the Trofeo Calvià on Wednesday 28 January, followed up each day by the Trofeo Ses Salines, Trofeo Serra Tramuntana, Trofeo Andratx – Pollença, and Trofeo Palma, respectively, with the latter bringing the week to a close on Sunday 1 February.

The Challenge Mallorca is a historic assortment of one-day races which take place in the last week of January each season, offering riders an early taste of action and teams the chance to field a plethora of talent across the week. For UAE Team Emirates-XRG, this means the opportunity to race on the front foot with its WorldTour riders and give valuable experience to its development riders.

Across the five days of racing in the coming week, new signings Benoît Cosnefroy and Adrià Pericas will be joined on the various start lines by Rune Herregodts, António Morgado, Nils Politt, Pavel Sivakov, Felix Großschartner, Marc Soler, Pablo Torres, and Rui Oliveira. From the Gen Z ranks, meanwhile, Marcos Freire, Moritz Mauss, Ugo Fabries, and Jaime Torres will be on hand to support.

From the team car, Sports Directors Tomas Gil and Simone Pedrazzini will be in command.

The full lineups for each 1.1 one-day race are as detailed below:

Trofeo Calvià (Wednesday 28 January) (1.1)
Benoît Cosnefroy (Fra)
Rune Herregodts (Bel)
António Morgado (Por)
Nils Politt (Ger)
Pavel Sivakov (Fra)
Marcos Freire (Spa) (Gen Z)
Moritz Mauss (Ger) (Gen Z)

Trofeo Ses Salines (Thursday 29 January) (1.1)
Benoît Cosnefroy (Fra)
Felix Großschartner (AUT)
Rune Herregodts (Bel)
António Morgado (Por)
Nils Politt (Ger)
Pavel Sivakov (Fra)
Marc Soler (Spa)

Trofeo Serra Tramuntana (Friday 30 January) (1.1)
Benoît Cosnefroy (Fra)
Felix Großschartner (AUT)
António Morgado (Por)
Adrià Pericas (Spa)
Pablo Torres (Spa)
Ugo Fabries (Fra) (Gen Z)
Moritz Mauss (Ger) (Gen Z)

Trofeo Andratx – Pollença (Saturday 31 January) (1.1)
Benoît Cosnefroy (Fra)
António Morgado (Por)
Adrià Pericas (Spa)
Pablo Torres (Spa)
Ugo Fabries (Fra) (Gen Z)
Moritz Mauss (Ger) (Gen Z)
Jaime Torres (Spa) (Gen Z)

Trofeo Palma (Sunday 1 February) (1.1)
Rune Herregodts (Bel)
Rui Oliveira (Por)
Nils Politt (Ger)
Ugo Fabries (Fra) (Gen Z)
Marcos Freire (Ger) (Gen Z)
Moritz Mauss (Ger) (Gen Z)
Jaime Torres (Spa) (Gen Z)

Elsewhere, UAE Team Emirates-XRG are set to follow on from a lively Santos Tour Down Under with the Mapei Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in Geelong, Australia. The Emirati squad claimed the overall title at the Tour Down Under for the third year in succession, with Jay Vine emerging triumphant, but were beset by a series of crashes over the course of the six days.

As such, the team will field a smaller squad at both the first WorldTour one-day race of the season, held on Sunday, 1 February. It had been expected that the Emirati outfit would line up at the Surf Coast Classic, as well, but Thursday’s race has been cancelled due to the risk of wildfires in the area.

Rounding off the Australian block with the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Race, sprinter Sebastián Molano will be supported by Ivo Oliveira, Adam Yates, Mikkel Bjerg and Vegard Stake Laengen.

Following his crash at the AlUla Tour, Vine has undergone successful surgery on a scaphoid fracture, with Medical Director Dr. Adrian Rotunno offering a comprehensive update.

Dr. Adrian Rotunno (Medical Director): “After the race, Jay reported pain in his wrist from his crash during the final stage. After medical review, it was found that he sustained a significant left wrist scaphoid fracture, and underwent successful surgery on Tuesday morning. He will be withdrawn from competition for post-op recovery and rehabilitation.”