United Arab Emirates 16 Feb – 22 Feb 2026 Class 2.UWT – Stages – UCI WorldTour
Website www.theuaetour.com
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Arthur Kluckers is a 25-year-old professional cyclist from Luxembourg, born on March 15, 2000. He currently competes for the Tudor Pro Cycling Team, a UCI ProTeam.
Known as a versatile all-rounder, Kluckers has built a steady reputation in the professional peloton, particularly in time trials and rolling terrain.
🚴 Career Profile
- Current Team: Tudor Pro Cycling Team (since 2023)
- UCI Ranking: 549th (as of February 2026)
- Pro Career Wins: 6 UCI victories (11 career victories including youth/national categories)
- Specialty: All-rounder with a strong focus on Time Trials and Classics.
🏆 Career Highlights
- National Success: Kluckers is a decorated rider in his home country. He is the 2025 Luxembourg National Road Race Champion and the 2024 National Time Trial Champion. He also holds multiple U23 and Junior national titles.
- UCI Victories: His professional wins include a stage at the Boucles de la Mayenne (2025) and a stage at the ZLM Tour (2024), where he also finished 7th overall in the General Classification.
- Early Success: One of his most cherished memories is winning a Silver Medal at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires.
- WorldTour Experience: Before joining Tudor, he served as a trainee (stagiaire) for UAE Team Emirates in 2022.
🛠️ Personal & Training
- Physicality: He stands at 1.91m (6’3″) and weighs approximately 71kg.
- Rituals: He is known for a specific pre-race ritual: he always puts on his left shoe before his right one.
- Hobbies: Outside of cycling, he is a coffee enthusiast and a self-proclaimed fan of chocolate.
📅 Current 2026 Season
As of February 16, 2026, Arthur Kluckers is participating in the UAE Tour (Stage 1 is currently underway), where he is supporting the Tudor Pro Cycling roster in their first WorldTour outing of the season.
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
The UAE Tour (2.UWT) is the only UCI WorldTour race in the Middle East. While it is a relatively young event, it has quickly become a cornerstone of the early-season professional cycling calendar, serving as a prestigious battleground for both the world’s best sprinters and elite GC (General Classification) contenders.
🏗️ The Merger (2019)
The UAE Tour was born from the unification of two separate races:
- The Dubai Tour (est. 2014) – Known for its flat, sprinter-friendly urban stages.
- The Abu Dhabi Tour (est. 2015) – Featured a mix of flat roads and the iconic Jebel Hafeet climb.
In 2019, organizers (RCS Sport and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council) merged the two to create a week-long, seven-stage race that spans all seven Emirates. This consolidation allowed the race to secure UCI WorldTour status immediately, ensuring the participation of all top-tier professional teams.
🏔️ The Defining Climbs
While much of the race traverses flat desert roads—often plagued by tactical “echelons” caused by high crosswinds—the overall victory is almost always decided on two legendary climbs:
- Jebel Hafeet: A 10.8km ascent with an average gradient of 7%. It is a wide, highway-like road that offers no shade and punishing heat.
- Jebel Jais: A longer, shallower climb (approx. 20km at 5%) that often favors a “power climber” or a reduced group sprint.
🏆 General Classification History
The race has been dominated by some of the biggest names in the sport, most notably Tadej Pogačar, who treats the race as a “home” event for his team, UAE Team Emirates.
| Year | Winner | Team | Key Note |
| 2019 | Primož Roglič | Jumbo-Visma | The inaugural winner. |
| 2020 | Adam Yates | Mitchelton-Scott | Cut short by two stages due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| 2021 | Tadej Pogačar | UAE Team Emirates | Pogačar’s first win on home soil. |
| 2022 | Tadej Pogačar | UAE Team Emirates | Defended his title in a battle with Adam Yates. |
| 2023 | Remco Evenepoel | Soudal-QuickStep | A dominant performance by the World Champion. |
| 2024 | Lennert Van Eetvelt | Lotto-Dstny | A surprise victory by the young Belgian on the final day. |
| 2025 | Tadej Pogačar | UAE Team Emirates | Reclaimed his “throne” with a masterclass on Jebel Hafeet. |
🚴 The “Sprinter’s World Championship”
Because of the flat terrain and wide roads, the UAE Tour attracts the deepest field of sprinters of any race outside the Tour de France. Legends like Mark Cavendish, Caleb Ewan, Sam Bennett, and Tim Merlier (who holds the record for most stage wins with 7) have made the race the premier destination for lead-out trains to test their speed.
🚺 Expansion: UAE Tour Women
In 2023, the race expanded to include a women’s event (UCI Women’s WorldTour). It has been dominated by Elisa Longo Borghini, who won the inaugural edition in 2023 and successfully defended her title in 2025 and 2026.
