CyclistUAE Tour Women 2026 preview: Route, favourites, how to watch and start listThe UAE Tour Women is the second stage race on the WorldTour calendar following the recent Tour Down Under, taking place in the United Arab Emirates from Thursday 5th to Sunday 8th February 2026.Last years edition was won by UAE Team ADQs Elisa Longo Borghini with teammate Silvia Persico two minutes down in second, closely followed by Kim Le Court-Pienaar of AG Insurance-Soudal in third. All three will be back on the start line alongside the likes of Marlen Reusser, Anna van der Breggen and Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto duo Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney and Neve Bradbury.UAE Tour Women 2026 key informationTim de Waele/Getty ImagesDate: 5th-8th February 2026Start: Al MirfaFinish: Jebel HafeetStages: 4Distance: 533km2025 winner: Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ)Live television coverage: Discovery+, TNT Sports, FloBikesUAE Tour Women 2026 stage-by-stage previewThe UAE Tour Women 2026 is changing things up slightly compared to last year, saving all the GC action for the final stage instead of having a sprint day to end proceedings. Dont fret Lorena Wiebes, there should still be three bunch finishes to start your 2026 win collection.Stage 1, Thursday 5th February: Al Mirfa Madinat Zayed, 111kmThe UAE Tour Women 2026 begins on the coast for a pan-flat stage, kicking off where Stage 2 finished last year. The peloton heads out south towards sprint points before finishing at Madinat Zayed.Stage 2, Friday 6th February: Dubai Dubai, 145kmAnother flat day awaits the peloton around Dubai, heading out towards Expo Dubai and Al Qudra Lakes for some sprinting action prior to the main event.Stage 3, Saturday 7th February: Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi, 121kmStage 3 is pretty much a carbon copy of the Abu Dhabi stage last year won by Lorena Wiebes. The day heads in the direction of the Yas Marina Circuit, home of the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix, for an intermediate sprint. From there, riders will race towards Abu Dhabi Breakwater where Wiebes will probably make it 3/3.Stage 4, Sunday 8th February: Al Ain Jebel Hafeet, 156kmAh, some elevation at last. Stage 4 heads towards the 10.8km Jebel Hafeet, which averages 7% but peaks at 11% around 3km from the finish. This is where the race will be decided as the climbers come to the fore. Only Longo Borghini and Lotte Kopecky have won this race so far in its three previous editions. With Kopecky not riding this year, will the Italian be able to keep that streak going? Related Posts Pro Log: Van der Poel and Brand win CX Worlds; Tour and Vuelta wildcards announced; Finucane breaks 200m world record Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 2026 preview: Route, favourites, how to watch and start list Pro cycling winners and losers in January 2026 Pinky promise: Why this could be the season of EF Education-Oatly UAE Tour Women 2026 favouritesUAE TourBarring a big crosswind split on the Emirates open, flat roads, the winner will be decided on Jebel Hafeet will be the overall champion thanks to flat stages doing nothing to separate those in the GC. It was the case for Longo Borghini in 2023 and 2025 and Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) in 2024.CyclistsGC ratings: Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ): Marlen Reusser (Movistar), Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG insurance-Soudal), Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM Zondacrypto): Juliette Berthet (FDJ United-Suez), Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto), Monica Trinca Colonel (Liv-AlUla-Jayco): Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ): Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance-Soudal), Karlijn Swinkels (UAE Team ADQ), Nina Buijsman (Human Powered Health)Cyclists sprinters ratings: Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime): Charlotte Kool (Femix-Premier Tech): Lara Gillespie (UAE Team ADQ), Chiara Consonni (Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto): Linda Zanetti (Uno X Mobility), Rachele Barbieri (Picnic-PostNL), : Georgia Baker (Liv-AlUla-Jayco), Gladys Verhulst-Wild (AG Insurance-Soudal), Maggie Coles-Lyster (Human Powered Health)How to watch the UAE Tour Women 2026The UAE Tour Women 2026 will be available to watch in the UK onDiscovery+and on TV with TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports 3. In the United States, the action can be seen on FloBikes as SBS is providing coverage in Australia.If the race isnt being broadcast in your country, or you are travelling abroad, a VPN will allow you to hide your devices location to access content that is normally geo-blocked.Read more:Live cycling moves to TNT Sports premium subscriptionRead more:How to watch cycling for less in the UKStage 1, Thursday 5th FebruaryDiscovery+: 10:45 12:45TNT Sports 1: 10:45 12:45Stage 2, Friday 6th FebruaryDiscovery+: 10:45 12:45TNT Sports 1: 10:45 12:45Stage 3, Saturday 7th FebruaryDiscovery+: 10:50 12:35TNT Sports 3: 11:00 12:45Stage 4, Sunday 8th FebruaryDiscovery+: 10:45 12:45TNT Sports 1: 10:45 12:45UAE Tour Women 2026 start listData powered by FirstCycling.comThe post UAE Tour Women 2026 preview: Route, favourites, how to watch and start list appeared first on Cyclist.