UAE Team ADQ announced that it has incorporated the Valcar-Travel & Service team into its organization as the UAE Development Team.

Five of Valcar's 2022 riders have transferred to UAE Team ADQ this season, with outstanding rider Silvia Persico and sport director David Alenzi's move announced in September. Chiara Consonni, Eleonora Gasparini, Olivia Baril, and Carolina Cumiega also joined the team from Valcar.

By bringing the remnants of the team into the larger organization of the UAE team, Valentino Villa, founder of the Valcar team, who remains as manager of the UAE Development Team, can continue his work nurturing new talent.

"We made this choice to secure a better future for the team and to provide continuity to the projects we have built over the past years," Villa said in a press release. We have always strived to develop our talent pool and to be a treasury of talent on the World Tour team. This has always been a key priority for us."

"We are very happy to have our expertise recognized by a prestigious big team like UAE Team ADQ. This is a valuable recognition of our excellence and hard work over the past years. Now comes a new challenge, which gives me a lot of motivation and a new path to walk with them."

The UAE Development Team will include four riders from last year's Valcar Continental Team: Federica Damiana Piergiovanni, Anastasia Carbonari, Carlotta Cipressi, and Emma Redaelli, all under 23.

Julia Biliukova, a stage winner in the Thuringian Ladies Tour, joins from the Arkea team. Irish track racer Lara Gillespie and mountain biker Gaia Tormena join as specialists, while Linda Zanetti, 20, moves from the World Team to the development team.

The team will also include two UAE athletes, Huda and Zahra Hussein, among a total of nine nationalities.

The UCI allows riders from the development team who are part of the World Team to race for either team, giving young riders a chance to gain experience in major races. Both teams must have the same agency and a common identity, either in name or jersey design.

Riders benefit from the guidance and support of a larger team and are given the opportunity to grow; WorldTeam also gets a well of riders to fill out its calendar roster without being required to pay a minimum annual salary like the top teams.

Other WorldTeams with developmental wings include Canyon-SRAM and the recently announced Phoenix-Deceuninck; the AG Insurance-Soudal QuickStep Continental team also has an under-23 team.

UAE Team ADQ General Manager Rubens Bertogliati said the project fits with the organization's mission. He said, "Women's cycling is growing by leaps and bounds, and it is part of UTA's commitment to talent development to create young riders who will one day represent a WorldTour team and pave the way for growth.

"There is no under-23 category in women's cycling, and the creation of the development team is intended to provide an intermediate step for young riders who will have time to mature under our supervision to better prepare for the big jump to the World Tour. It is never easy to make a career as a professional cyclist, but for athletes who do not have access to a support network, it is nearly impossible.

"Through the UAE Development Team, we hope to nurture a new generation of female racers by identifying and nurturing their talent to reach their full potential. Together with the new team manager of the development team, we are launching this ambitious project.