Tadej Pogačar gets a new teammate for 2027 as UAE Team Emirates-XRG sign Italian all-rounder

UAE Team Emirates-XRG have announced the signing of Marco Frigo on a two-year deal from NSN.

26-year-old Frigo is the team's first confirmed new signing for 2027 as he joins the Italian contingent at the squad, which grew out of the former Italian team Lampre.

Frigo joins former under-23 world champion Filippo Baroncini and 21-year-old Luca Giaimi on the racing side, while a host of Italians – including directeurs sportifs Manuele Mori, Marco Marcato, Fabrizio Guidi, Fabio Baldato, and Marco Marzano – are on the team's staff.

Frigo – no relation to former Saeco and Fassa Bortolo rider Dario – has been at NSN since turning pro with the team, then known as Israel-Premier Tech, back in 2023. He previously came up through the ranks with Italian amateur squad Zalf, SEG Racing Academy, and Israel Cycling Academy.

Frigo, along with former teammates Derek Gee-West and Matthew Riccitello, first burst onto the scene with a strong ride at the 2023 Giro d'Italia, where he made the break three times, taking third, fifth, and sixth places.

He was among the most aggressive riders at the 2024 Vuelta a España, making the break six times but still missing out on his first pro win with a second place in Yunquera. That breakthrough win came last spring at the Tour of the Alps, where he converted a mammoth 78km solo breakaway ride into glory in Innichen.

He has since racked up two more stage podium places at the Vuelta, and this summer made his Tour de France debut, with a highlight being fourth place on stage 4 in Foix.

"I think the first four years as a pro have been a process where I shaped and found my identity as a rider. I feel UAE understood that, believed in it, and that our ideas about the future are very much aligned," Frigo said upon signing for the team, where he'll stay to the end of the 2028 season.

"With that said, I can’t wait to transform the big motivation I feel into the next years and contribute to the team achieving its big goals."

Analysis

Dani Ostanek

In the press release announcing his signing, UAE describe Frigo as a 'strong and versatile rider capable of performing across a variety of terrain', and he should slot right in as a strong team worker who can take his own chances from time to time.

Frigo hasn't been a prolific winner since he entered the pro ranks, but he seems to turn it up for the big occasions, with four Grand Tour stage top-threes to his name across both the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España to his name.

He's a keen breakaway artist with 18 days in the break logged across six career Grand Tours to date, while he finished 10th at Amstel Gold Race this year after spending almost the entire race out front.

That instinct may be dulled somewhat in a team set to fight for GC victories for years to come with Tadej Pogačar, Isaac del Toro, and Joåo Almeida heading up the squad.

UAE have racked up 81 and 97 wins in their past two seasons and have 64 to their name in 2026, so it's not all about the handful of big-name team leaders. Last year, 20 of the team's riders won a race, while this time around that figure stands at 18. Frigo will certainly get opportunities for personal success here and there.

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