UAE Team Emirates-XRG gears up for the Canadian and Italian Classics

Ahead of the Canadian Classics, UAE Team Emirates-XRG is pleased to announce its seven-man squad for the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal.

Raced on Friday, 11 September and Sunday, 13 September, respectively, this year’s one-day Classics provide ideal preparation for the upcoming UCI Road World Championships. Of course, each of the races is an important prize in its own right, with UAE Team Emirates-XRG hoping to win the GP de Québec for the first time.

Last season, the Emirati squad placed second in Québec with Pavel Sivakov before winning the GP de Montréal through Brandon McNulty. The American’s victory was taken as part of a memorable 1-2 finish alongside teammate Tadej Pogačar.

This time out, McNulty will be back as the defending champion and forms part of a fearsome lineup for UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

Led in the team car by Sports Director Simone Pedrazzini, the seven-man lineup includes McNulty, Isaac del Toro, Felix Großschartner, Brandon McNulty, Jhonatan Narváez, Florian Vermeersch, Tim Wellens, and Adam Yates.

Their first task will be Friday’s 205.5km-long race at the GP de Québec, where Del Toro will be making his debut on Canadian soil.

A recent winner of the Tour de Luxembourg, the Mexican will be one of the riders to watch in North America.

Del Toro: “I’m really looking forward to racing in Canada for the first time. Québec and Montréal are two races I’ve watched and heard a lot about, so it will be nice to finally experience them myself.

“They’re both demanding races with really strong fields, and at this point in the season they’re a great opportunity to push for a strong end of the year. I’m feeling good, the motivation is high, and we’re coming with a strong team.

“Hopefully we can ride aggressively and enjoy a good block of racing in Canada.”

Friday’s race is no doubt the easier of the two, with Québec serving up a course that includes 2,820m of climbing and has regularly been won by versatile sprinters. Recent winners include Michael Matthews and Arnaud De Lie, before Julian Alaphilippe won from the breakaway last season.

As has become tradition, the 15th edition of the GP de Québec will finish on the Plains of Abraham, after ascents of the Côte de la Montagne, Saint-Louis and George VI climbs.

Although Del Toro will be a debutant in the UAE Team Emirates-XRG ranks, experience certainly comes in the form of Tim Wellens, who will be making his 12th outing in Canada. The recent Tour of Britain champion won the GP de Montréal in 2015, and will hope to help the Emirati squad continue its remarkable record in Sunday’s race.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG has won the last four editions in Montréal, through Tadej Pogačar (2022, 2024), Adam Yates (2023) and Brandon McNulty (2025). Yates, McNulty and Wellens, then, will bring invaluable experience to the tougher of the two races.

Coming back with the number 1 bib is something that McNulty is relishing.

McNulty: “Coming back to Canada as the defending champion in Montréal is definitely special. Last year was an incredible day for me and for the whole team, and it’s a race I’ll always have great memories from.

“Québec and Montréal are both really hard races and you need to have a good day to be in the fight. We’re coming here with a very strong group again, so hopefully we can race positively as a team and put ourselves in a position to go for another big result.”

Standing at 214.6km long, the GP de Montréal route takes on a slightly different flavour this year, with the race organisers echoing the parcours of the upcoming Road World Championships. As such, there will be 16 laps of a 13km circuit around Mount Royal.

Within this circuit, the defining features remain the traditional climbs of Côte de Camilien-Houde (1.9km at 7.1%), Côte de Polytechnique (800m at 4%) and Côte Pagnuelo (500m at 7.5%). All in all, this will add up to 4,362m of elevation gain, giving Montréal a much tougher edge than Friday’s Québec race.

Falling just two weeks before the Worlds, riders will be extra keen to put in a strong display on the Montréal parcours, making this a race not to be missed.

Meanwhile, UAE Team Emirates-XRG will also be in action in Europe, with a trio of semi-Classics to be dealt with in Italy. The Emirati squad will take on Coppa Sabatini, the Memorial Marco Pantani, and Trofeo Matteotti on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Sports Directors Fabio Baldato and Marco Marzano will be in charge across all three, with a mixture of youth and experience forming the Emirati ranks.

Up first, the team will tackle the 74th edition of the Gran Premio città di Peccioli – Coppa Sabatini on Thursday, 10 September. UAE Team Emirates-XRG has won the last three editions of this race through Marc Hirsch (2023, 2024) and Isaac del Toro (2025), so will head into this week’s edition full of ambition.

The seven-man squad will include Igor Arrieta, Filippo Baroncini, Jan Christen (a top-10 finisher last season), Benoît Cosnefroy, Luca Giaimi, António Morgado and Adrià Pericas.

Standing at a little under 200km out and back to Peccioli, the Coppa Sabatini takes in climbs such as Legoli (3.1km at 5.5%), Montefoscoli (0.8km at 11.1%), and the Muro di Peccioli (0.9km at 10.4%).

Two days on, UAE Team Emirates-XRG will contest the Memorial Marco Pantani in and around Cesenatico. Here, multiple ascents of the nearby Longiano climb (2.6km at 4.2%) should make for an attritional affair, with the race set to host its 23rd edition.

Two years ago, Marc Hirschi won this race for UAE Team Emirates-XRG. This time out, Baroncini, Christen, Cosnefroy, Giaimi and Morgado will carry on from the Coppa Sabatini, with Daan Dijkman and Ugo Fabries completing the squad from the team’s Gen Z ranks.

This same group of seven will contest Trofeo Matteotti on Sunday, 13 September.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG has won four of the past seven editions, with Valerio Conti (2020), Matteo Trentin (2021), Sjoerd Bax (2023) and Isaac del Toro (2025). It is a race with an illustrious history, stretching back some 77 editions prior to this season.

Held in Pescara, the Trofeo Matteotti is held as a circuit race, offering local fans an abundance of opportunities to catch a glimpse of their favourite riders.