MADRID, 14th April, 2026 (WAM) — With Paris-Roubaix marking an end to the spring Classics, attention quickly turns back to the stage racing calendar, an exciting proposition at ‘The Historical Route’ of O Gran Camiño. There, for the fifth edition of this Spanish stage race, UAE Team Emirates-XRG will make its race debut, led by the returning Adam Yates.
Filling out the six-man UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad alongside Yates will be the young Emirati talents, Abdulla Jasim Al-Ali and Mohammad Almutaiwei. They will be accompanied by the WorldTour trio, Julius Johansen, Vegard Stake Laengen and Kevin Vermaerke.
The race comes at a perfect time for both UAE Team Emirates Gen Z riders, with Jasim Al-Ali and Almutaiwei coming into O Gran Camiño as recently-crowned national champions of the UAE. It was in the time trial discipline that Jasim Al-Ali triumphed, before Almutaiwei followed suit in the road race on Sunday.
Together, the pair will hope to gain valuable experience in Galicia and provide the necessary support to their teammates. In this endeavour, they will be helped by the proven trio of Johansen, Stake Laengen, and Vermaerke.
Beginning on 14th April, the fifth instalment of O Gran Camiño is marked by a series of rolling parcours, one tough Queen stage, and a short individual time trial on the opening day.
At just 15km in length, the stage 1 ITT will begin in A Coruña and feature a few lumps and bumps along the way to the finish at the historic lighthouse of Torre de Hércules.
From Vilalba to Barreiros, stage 2 introduces a series of climbs into the final 25km of its 148.6km parcours, which should suit the puncheurs. These same puncheurs will be in contention once more on stage 3 between Carballo and Padrón, before the race hosts its toughest route on stage 4.
Billed as the Queen stage of the race, stage 4 will run for 145.7km between Xinzo de Limia and the Alto Cabeza de Meda. Almost 3,000m of climbing awaits the peloton on Friday, with most of that crammed into the last 60km of racing.
Source: Emirates News Agency