Is UAE Over the Top?

[Red Rick]

"He beat X" really doesn't say anything without knowing how good was the one beaten. Jonas himself was faster 2023 behind Roglič than this time. Roglič was faster than both Jonas and Almeida.

So is Almeida really that improved? Or has he just gone to races with lower fields and beat a Jonas on a decline?

Both narratives seems to make sense on the surface.

If they had the weather conditions and the pacing on the easy section like in 2025, Roglic and Vingegaard would have both gone faster than this year. Plus riders got generally faster between 2023 and 2025.

Climbing time isn't as important as the gaps behind, and 30 seconds to Kuss and Hindley is not extraterrestrial. Almeida is good, but I don't think he's made the level of improvement many claim that he has.

 

[Rou]

Climbing time isn't as important as the gaps behind, and 30 seconds to Kuss and Hindley is not extraterrestrial. Almeida is good, but I don't think he's made the level of improvement many claim that he has.

Angliru usually doesn't provide big gaps.
But the same Almeida rode both Hindley and Kuss off his wheel on Valdezcaray and put 1:20 on them.
Let's wait for Morredero because I see Almeida putting 60-90 secs on Hindley there and then we would be having a different conversation.

 

[AlpRaid]

I had no idea actually that Matxin goes back to Cobo:

"“That wasn’t the original plan. The idea was to keep Visma out of the break, and following Campenaerts was key. If Joao had dropped Vingegaard, don’t doubt for a second we’d have called Soler back. It’s happened before — in 2011, I had to stop De la Fuente to help Cobo win.”

The completely unapologetic way he uses Cobo as a reference to "legitimize" something and speaks of "winning" with him, when everyone knows he was blood-doped to the gills.

How can anyone have confidence in anything UAE does?

Also, it does appear that Pog is not the only beneficiary of whatever happened between 2023 and 2024. The entire team made a jump.

 

[Ripper]

I had no idea actually that Matxin goes back to Cobo:

"“That wasn’t the original plan. The idea was to keep Visma out of the break, and following Campenaerts was key. If Joao had dropped Vingegaard, don’t doubt for a second we’d have called Soler back. It’s happened before — in 2011, I had to stop De la Fuente to help Cobo win.”

The completely unapologetic way he uses Cobo as a reference to "legitimize" something and speaks of "winning" with him, when everyone knows he was blood-doped to the gills.

How can anyone have confidence in anything UAE does?

Also, it does appear that Pog is not the only beneficiary of whatever happened between 2023 and 2024. The entire team made a jump.

Well, that's the thing about UAE, isn't it? Matxin and Gianetti are unapologetic because they don't think they've done anything wrong. Sure, they had some 'bad eggs, but who hadn't (lol x 1000)

I mean, who knows if the same riders would be doing as well on other teams (i.e. if UAE had never existed)? But I just cannot get on board with the characters running or heavily involved with that team.

Perhaps Johan and Lance can make a comeback?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

When was the last time a team won stages with 4 different riders in a Grand Tour? I know it was brought up for the 2022 and 2012 Tour but they only did it with 3 riders.

Three is a lot more common than you think. If we get technical, HTC won with Cav, EBH and Kanstantsin Siutsou in the 2009 Giro as well as winning the TTT. Impressively Cervélo also managed 3 different stage winners in that race (Sastre, Konovalovas and Gerrans). Hell, Movistar managed it at the 2013 Giro with Dowsett, Intxausti and Visconti and nobody's going to claim they were dominant there! CSC managed 3 at the 2008 Tour (Cancellara, Arvesen and of course Sastre), with their successors, Saxo Bank, repeating the feat in 2009 (Cancellara, Nicki Sørensen and Fränk Schleck). There's also Astana at the 2006 Vuelta (Paulinho, Vino and Kashechkin), Caisse d'Épargne at the 2008 one (Valverde, Erviti and Arroyo), Garmin in 2009 (Hesjedal, Millar and Farrar), Quick Step in 2016 (Brambilla, Meersman, de la Cruz)...

 

[noob]

Also, it does appear that Pog is not the only beneficiary of whatever happened between 2023 and 2024. The entire team made a jump.

This!

 

[AlpRaid]

Vine...?

Seriously!?

On par with TopGanna on a pan flat TT.

The water is powerful over at UAE.

If he can rival TopGanna on pan flat, are we then looking at the next ITT World Champ, since he will presumably benefit from the hilly course.

Just goes to show it is the entire team that has had a jump.

 

[AlpRaid]

World Champs road race Top 5 (all different countries but all UAE):

1. Pog
2. DelToro (st)
3. Ayuso @ 2 mins
4. Vine @ 3 mins
5. Almeida @ 4 mins
6. Remco @ 12 mins

 

[Danskebjerge]

Also, it does appear that Pog is not the only beneficiary of whatever happened between 2023 and 2024. The entire team made a jump.

Except Bjerg who has been consistent as a rock since he turned 20.

 

[noob]

World Champs road race Top 5 (all different countries but all UAE):

1. Pog
2. DelToro (st)
3. Ayuso @ 2 mins
4. Vine @ 3 mins
5. Almeida @ 4 mins
6. Remco @ 12 mins

No way. Almeida isn't good at one day races.

 

[Ripper]

No way. Almeida isn't good at one day races.

If it turns into a long solo TT, Almeida might even get to the podium

 

[Krzysztof_O]

World Champs road race Top 5 (all different countries but all UAE):

1. Pog
2. DelToro (st)
3. Ayuso @ 2 mins
4. Vine @ 3 mins
5. Almeida @ 4 mins
6. Remco @ 12 mins

Ayuso to wheelsuck Pogi the whole race only to "help" him in the last 100 meters. At the finish it will be worse than with Van Baarle after Flandres 2022.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Ayuso to wheelsuck Pogi the whole race only to "help" him in the last 100 meters. At the finish it will be worse than with Van Baarle after Flandres 2022.

That would be peak cycling!

 

[SHAD0W93]

Ayuso to wheelsuck Pogi the whole race only to "help" him in the last 100 meters. At the finish it will be worse than with Van Baarle after Flandres 2022.

Even better would be Ayuso cosplaying as Valverde and someone Costaing to the win.

 

[Netserk]

Even better would be Ayuso cosplaying as Valverde and someone Costaing to the win.

Alaphilippe is the new Rui Costa.