Dubai, UAE, January 30, 2019:  Emirati all-rounder, Yousif Mirza, heads to Europe with 11 of his team mates in their first set of races for the 2019 season, as they take on Challenge Mallorca, a four day competition from January 31 to February 3.

 

Four seven-man teams will be guided by Sports Director Marco Marzano (Italy) and Technical Assistant Paolo Tiralongo (Italy) across four different one day races:

 

Trofeo Ses Salines, Campos, Porreres, Felanitx (176.9km), January 31: 

Fabio Aru (Italy), Alexander Kristoff (Norway), Vegard Stake Laengen (Norway), Marco Marcato (Italy), Yousif Mirza (UAE), Manuele Mori (Italy), Rui Oliveira (Portugal).

 

Trofeo Andratx Loseta (172.4km), February 1:

Kristian Durasek (Croatia), Alexander Kristoff (Norway), Vegard Stake Laengen (Norway), Daniel Martin (Ireland), Simone Petilli (Italy), Edward Ravasi (Italy), Aleksandr Riabushenko (Byelorussia).

 

Trofeo de Tramuntana (140.1km), February 2: 

Fabio Aru (Italy), Kristian Durasek (Croatia), Daniel Martin (Ireland), Yousif Mirza (UAE), Simone Petilli (Italy), Edward Ravasi (Italy), Aleksandr Riabushenko (Byelorussia).

 

Trofeo Palma (159.6km), February 3:

Kristian Durasek (Croatia), Alexander Kristoff (Norway), Vegard Stake Laengen (Norway), Marco Marcato (Italy), Manuele Mori (Italy), Rui Oliveira (Portugal). 

 

Yousif Mirza said: 'I can't wait for this new season to begin. This will be year three of the amazing adventure of UAE Team Emirates, we improved a lot and we want to achieve better results. In the early races, my team mates were very good in terms of results. My path in World Tour cycling has been so exciting up to now, I'm becoming a better rider day after day thanks to the huge skills of the team's management, staff and directors. It's great to race in Mallorca with most of the top riders of the team, I'll try to exploit the race in order to check my fitness and to support the team's captains.” 

 

“The Challenge Mallorca takes a certain importance given that we have 12 riders heading there,” said Marzano. “Our objective is not just results, but to use the four days of racing to better understand how our winter training program has improved the riders’ form. The 12 cyclists will rotate in the races, with five riders not competing each day but training under the guidance of our coaches instead. We are confident that this Mallorca trip will help us in our overall 2019 plan, which has already helped us achieve great results in Australia and Argentina.