'It's UAE's to lose' – What the GC favourites expect on Jebel Hafeet with UAE Tour Women overall win up for grabs

JEBEL HAFEET, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - FEBRUARY 08: A general view of Silvia Persico of Italy, Elisa Longo Borghini of Italy and UAE Team ADQ, Mavi Garcia of Spain, Monica Trinca Colonel of Italy and Team Liv AlUla Jayco, Antonia Niedermaier of Germany and CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto, Cedrine Kerbaol of France and Team EF Education-Oatly, Juliette Labous of France and Team FDJ - SUEZ, Kimberley Le Court Pienaar of Mauritius and AG Insurance - Soudal Team, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot of France and Team Visma | Lease a Bike, Mareille Meijering of Netherlands and Movistar Team, Katrine Aalerud of Norway and Team Uno-X Mobility, Pfeiffer Georgi of Great Britain and Team Picnic PostNL compete in the breakaway climbing to the Jebel Hafeet (1031m) during the 3rd UAE Tour Women, Stage 3 a 152km stage from Al Ain Qasr Al Muwaiji to Jebel Hafeet / #UCIWWT / on February 08, 2025 in Jebel Hafeet, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images).

For many onlookers, the UAE Tour Women is a precession of sandy sprint stages won by Lorena Wiebes with increasing and alarming regularity. While that might be the case, the inclusion of the mountain stage to Jebel Hafeet provides the first mountain test of the season, and for that it is fascinating.

The race is only in its fourth edition and Elisa Longo Borghini is the one woman present who has won on the mountain before, first in 2023, when riding for Lidl-Trek, then last year with her current team, UAE Team ADQ.