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2023 new Sports Directors

2023 new Sports Directors

October 17, 2022

After the consolidation of 2023 squad, UAE Team ADQ is pleased to announce who will work behind the scenes for the upcoming season.

After the consolidation of 2023 squad, UAE Team ADQ is pleased to announce the people who will work behind the scenes for the upcoming season.

It is with great excitement and pride that we welcome Cristina San Emerterio as the first female Sports Director of UAE Team ADQ for 2023. She will also lead the coaches in Europe and the coaching program in UAE.

The talented Spaniard comes with a wealth of experience and knowledge in the women's cycling industry.  Cristina is passionate about cycling development and coaching. She has more than a decade of coaching experience in her home country. In 2020 she was assigned Sports Director of the Rio Miera Cantabria Deporte Women Continental Team. In the 2022 season, she became Sports Director and Coach of the World Cycling Centre (UCI) Women’s Continental Team.

In addition, she worked for four years as Head of the Women's Sports Program at the Spanish Cycling Federation and Dean of the Health Sciences Faculty at the European University Miguel de Cervantes, in Valladolid.

Building on our commitment to champion women, youth, diversity, and inclusion in our community, UAE Team ADQ is launching a new program of cycling coaches in UAE for long-term cycling development under the mentorship of Cristina.

“I am very excited to join UAE Team ADQ and be part of this engine that believes in innovation, diversity and teamwork to take the Women’s World Tour to the next level.  The bet of the UAE Team ADQ empowers women as professionals in cycling, being the first female director in this team is a responsibility that I assume with great motivation and commitment” said Cristina.

Rubens Bertogliati General manager commented: “Cristina comes from a cycling family, where women’s cycling has always been the center of the activity. She is bringing to us her UCI expertise and insights into women cycling team management and capacity to support our riders. I am very glad to have her on the Sportive Team!”.

To succeed in our 2023 ambition, we are glad to announce the reinforcement of the directive team with the appointment of Alejandro Gonzales Tablas as Head of Performance and Sports Director from 2023.

The Spanish expert comes to the female UAE squad with much experience after having spent eight years with BikeExchenge and the last 4 years as Sports Director for the Australian Women’s World Team.

His track record included women’s team management, individual high-level athlete coaching, UCI World Cycling Centre coaching experience, and also leadership position as part of the Trinidad & Tobago Olympic Committee and the Refugees Olympic Team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Alejandro’s commented: “I’m excited to take on this role, the vision of the team together with the philosophy of equality and innovation is something that drives me in my career. This team has those values in their core, and it’s something that motivates me. I would like to bring my athlete-centered approach to the performance group, dive into the individual needs and look for innovative areas and ideas to bring this team to be a reference in the women’s peloton. There is a huge potential in the team and I’m looking forward to be part of their journey”

“Alejandro Gonzales Tablas is a well-formed trainer and Sports Director. His past experiences showed that he had the right attitude and mindset to bring the team to the highest standard in terms of performance. We are very happy to have him on board next year!”, Rubens Bertogliati General manager said.

The new Head of Performance will be able to count on one of the most experienced Italian cycling coaches in the world, Davide Arzeni, as he is joining UAE Team ADQ as the new Sports Director for 2023.

With more than 20 years of experience in cycling industry and more than one decade in female cycling, Davide has excelled in the development of Valcar Travel & Service for the past seven seasons as a Team Manager, Sports Director, and Coach. He built one of the most exciting projects in the World Women's cycling, by taking a small team all the way to the top of the women's cycling world and raising World Champion.

Arzeni is certainly one of the best talent scouts and has the ability to make the most of the riders of his team.  Davide has demonstrated his excellence with Valcar, where he has been able to launch many young talents, who are now among the strongest riders on the international scene including world champions.

His addition to the Sportive team of UAE Team ADQ is a strategic added value to the strengths of the team to succeed in the coming season.

“After the first contact with the Team, I understood that this is a very important project and I immediately got in tune with it. I can't wait to start working in this team, with all the technicians, riders, and staff. I strongly believe in teamwork, and I am very motivated and determined to help bring the Team among the reference teams of world women's cycling” mentioned Davide Arzeni.

“Davide has strong expertise in both team and athlete development. In the past years, he demonstrated that he is a star developer.  We are very happy to kick off the next season with him and raise UAE Team ADQ to the top! We have assembled a solid structure with talented people with a deep experience in their field and we trust and hope that we can bring it all together for a strong 2023 season.” UAE Team ADQ’ General Manager, Rubens said.