UAE Team Emirates-XRG enjoyed a super Sunday on the final weekend of June, with the Emirati squad winning three national championships in the space of less than an hour. In doing so, it moved the team past 50 victories for the 2026 campaign, becoming the first UCI WorldTeam to do so.
Sitting firmly at the top of the UCI’s WorldTeam standings for the fourth season in succession, UAE Team Emirates-XRG has followed up its record-breaking 2025 campaign with a renewed desire and determination to keep improving. It is perhaps fitting, then, that its victories on Sunday afternoon were all taken by riders winning their first national road titles.
Each entering uncharted territory, the 22-year-olds António Morgado and Jan Christen won the Portuguese and Swiss National Road Races, respectively, before Rune Herregodts landed the biggest victory of his career in the Belgian National Championships Road Race.
Together, the trio have taken UAE Team Emirates-XRG to 51 victories in 2026, with that tally coming from 16 different riders. Herregodts is the latest man to add his name to the mix, having taken his first win in UAE Team Emirates-XRG colours in the most brilliant way possible.
Just 30 minutes before Herregodts roared to success in Belgium, though, it was Morgado who got the ball rolling for the Emirati squad. After a joint effort between the youngster and his trade teammates, Rui and Ivo Oliveira, the 22-year-old stole a march on his rivals and rode to victory alone in Portugal.
The attack brought Morgado’s second national title of the week, coming as it did, just days on from his victory in the time trial discipline.
Raced on a 181.5km route to and from Guarda, the Portuguese National Championships Road Race pitted the country’s best against one another, and it was from this fray that Morgado emerged the strongest. The result is even sweeter for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, as it keeps the Portuguese colours in the team for another season.
Ivo Oliveira ceded the title to his teammate on Sunday, but the twin brothers could be satisfied with their display. In the end, it was third place for Rui and fourth for Ivo, with the pair enjoying a helping hand in the first national road title of Morgado’s career.
For the 22-year-old, it is no coincidence that he has won at the double just weeks on from his Grand Tour debut at the Giro d’Italia.
Morgado: “I’m thrilled to take the double title win here at the Nationals. The win in the TT gave me a lot of confidence, and the UAE guys did a great job today. We raced really well together.
“I suffered through each day at the Giro last month, my first Grand Tour, but I think and I hope it will make me stronger long term as my career goes on.”
It is not only Morgado who appears to be reaping the rewards of his three weeks in Italy, with his fellow Grand Tour debutant Jan Christen coming up trumps in both the time trial and road race at the Swiss National Championships.
Adding to his TT success from earlier in the week, the fellow 22-year-old produced a phenomenal display on Sunday to claim the Swiss National Championships Road Race. It was from a whopping 66km-long solo attack that Christen landed his first elite national crown on the road.
Falling only minutes on from Morgado’s triumph, Christen’s victory was UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s 50th of the season. This marks a significant milestone for the Emirati squad, who set a new historic record of 97 wins in 2025.
Following on from the most successful season in cycling history has not been without its ups and downs, specifically related to injuries and crashes, but the latest win tally points to the outstanding work of all involved, be it riders, staff, sponsors or partners. The Tour de France will be the squad’s next target, with the full lineup to be announced on Monday, 29 June.
Before then, though, the team can celebrate its 51st win of the season, taken in remarkable fashion by Rune Herregodts.
Raced across a completely flat parcours from Antwerpen to Brasschaat, the Belgian National Championships Road Race looked destined to be a sprinters’ royale between the likes of Tim Merlier and Jasper Philipsen. Herregodts and others, though, had other ideas.
With the highest average speed in Belgian Championships history, Sunday’s race saw Herregodts, Jonas Rickaert (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and Fabio Van den Bossche (Soudal Quick-Step) take part in the most unlikely of heists. The race between Antwerpen and Brasschaat consisted of 140km of point-to-point racing followed by four laps of a 20km-long finishing circuit, and it was on this circuit that Herregodts put his super legs to work.
Once here, the race split and a group of 30 riders, including Herregodts, got ahead of the peloton. This front group was then whittled down to only 10 riders with 50km to go, and the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man was present. It was then, with 20km to ride, that Rickaert and Van den Bossche mounted an opportunistic attack, with Herregodts following their wheels accordingly.
Quickly, the trio built up an advantage of 50 seconds to those chasing from behind, and they would not cede their lead until the finish. Here, in Brasschaat, the trio engaged in a three-up sprint for the national title, and it was Herregodts that packed the biggest punch.
18 months on from signing with UAE Team Emirates-XRG, the 27-year-old has landed his first win in the team’s colours. It is certainly the biggest and most prestigious of his career to date, and saw Herregodts in jubilant spirits after the finish.
Herregodts: “I still can’t believe it. I had ambition, but avoiding a sprint seemed impossible. When I missed the big group, I thought it was over. Then I forced it myself and it was a fair course. It took me a while to get used to riding for myself, but I had incredible legs today.
“On paper, I have the worst sprint of the three and I used that to play poker. I have fixed Fabio (Van den Bossche) a bit. That hurt a bit, but I had to think about myself. On days like this, I know I’m pretty fast.
“This was my only chance ever to become Belgian champion. I didn’t want to regret it and now everything is starting to sink in.”
Photos of Morgado below: ©️ Rodrigo Rodrigues / FPC
Photo of Herregodts below: ©️ Belgaimage
Portuguese National Championships Road Race – Elite Men results:
1. António Morgado (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 4:03:37
2. Afonso Silva (Team Tavira/Crédito Agricola) +18″
3. Rui Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +30″
Swiss National Championships Road Race – Elite Men results:
1. Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 3:43:40
2. Valentin Darbellay (Elite Foundations Cycling Team) +14″
3. Melk Zumstein (Velo Club Mendrisio) +25″
Belgian National Championships Road Race – Elite Men results:
1. Rune Herregodts (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 4:49:32
2. Jonas Rickaert (Alpecin-Premier Tech) s.t
3. Fabio Van den Bossche (Soudal Quick-Step) s.t