The UAE Tour, which runs February 16-22, usually stands as a major meeting point for the top sprinters of the peloton, though this year's race will have to do without one of the fastest men in the world.
The race, which could see three or four sprint opportunities on largely pan-flat routes through the Emirates, will not be welcoming Soudal-QuickStep star Tim Merlier this year.
Merlier has been a major feature of the race over the past three years, picking up seven stage victories and winning two points jerseys since making his debut in 2023. Last year, he went up against Jonathan Milan and Jasper Philipsen, picking up two stages in the process.
Milan, who just opened his 2025 account with the opening stage of the AlUla Tour, is already confirmed to race in the UAE, and his job just got a little easier with Merlier's knee injury keeping him out of next month's race.
Earlier this month, Merlier confirmed that he would miss the AlUla Tour after falling behind in winter training due to a knee issue which surfaced in December. He's on the mend now, but a report from Het Laatste Nieuws indicated that his season start will be pushed back further still.
The Belgian paper reported that His knee is now improving, and his team is pleased with the progress he's made with it and his training, but Merlier is now likely to return to racing later in the month or even in March.
Merlier, 33, was arguably the top sprinter in the world last season. He sped to 16 wins, including eight at WorldTour level and two Tour de France stages. His absence is a big miss for the UAE Tour, which is heavily based on sprint stages – in addition to a short time trial and two summit finishes.
At Soudal-QuickStep's media day three weeks ago, Merlier stated that he had hoped to target Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, the sprinter-friendly second half of Opening Weekend, which falls on March 1. That might come too early for him, however.
"If I feel good and the coaches agree, we'll set a date for me to return, but it's too early to say anything about that now. I hope to be at my best in the Classics, so Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, but I won't ride Omloop [Het Nieuwsblad]. We'll see how things develop," he said.
Het Laatste Nieuws reported that Soudal-QuickStep CEO has indicated that Merlier could instead head to an altitude training camp before getting underway at Paris-Nice (March 9-15) en route to later goals including Gent-Wevelgem.
It's early days in the 2026 season, but the Belgian team will be hoping for their top race winner to be back in action sooner rather than later.
Paul Magnier's second at the Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana is their best result to date. Elsewhere, Laurenz Rex sprinted to fourth on stage 1 of the AlUla Tour, and second-year pro Andrea Raccagni Noviero took sixth and the young rider's classification at the Tour Down Under.
