ABU DHABI, 18th August, 2026 (WAM) -- UAE Team Emirates-XRG has announced its squads for the Lidl Deutschland Tour and the Renewi Tour. Both races will begin on Wednesday, 19th August, and run through to Sunday, 23rd August.
The Lidl Deutschland Tour will celebrate its 40th edition this year and see Nils Politt lead the line alongside Isaac del Toro for UAE Team Emirates-XRG. They will be joined in Germany by Vegard Stake Laengen, António Morgado, Moritz Mauss and Matteo Vanden Wijngaert, with Sports Directors Fabrizio Guidi and Andrej Hauptman guiding the squad.
Politt’s participation carries particular significance as he races on home roads in front of the German fans. He is a former winner of his home race, having taken the title in 2021, while his first-ever professional victory was taken on the streets of Stuttgart in the 2018 Deutschland Tour.
For the 40th instalment of the race, a 2.6km prologue followed by four road stages will make up the route. Stage 1 stands at 215.2km in length and includes some 3,298m of elevation gain, while stage 3 features 3,069m of climbing. Finally, an out-and-back route from Heilbronn will bring the race to an end in stage 4.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG has finished on the podium three times at the Deutschland Tour, through Alexander Kristoff in 2021, Felix Großschartner in 2023 and Jhonatan Narváez in 2025. Stage wins, meanwhile, have also been taken by the team in recent years.
Meanwhile, at the Renewi Tour in Belgium, Florian Vermeersch will spearhead the UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad, alongside Rune Herregodts, Igor Arrieta, Filippo Baroncini, Mikkel Bjerg, Julius Johansen and Rui Oliveira. From the team car, Sports Directors Fabio Baldato and Marco Marzano will take charge.
Vermeersch, runner-up in the general classification in 2023, is motivated to make another strong showing this time out, while Oliveira will be brimming with confidence, having taken his first-ever professional victory at the Volta a Portugal.
The 2026 Renewi Tour will get underway with stage 1, out and back to Diest, followed by stage 2 between Blankenberge and Ardooie. Stage 3 will serve as the Queen stage of this year’s Renewi Tour and includes 17 categorised climbs, including the Kapelmuur.
More rolling roads await the peloton from Riemst to Bilzen-Hoeselt on stage 4, before the race draws to a close with a technical inner-city circuit race in Leuven on the final day.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG won the Renewi Tour through Belgian rider Tim Wellens in 2023 and 2024, before Wellens claimed a podium spot last time out.