Talent my friend is very important. There are riders who don't need much to be good at altitude. Others really suffer there.
Those with talent also need to acclimatize. When the whole peloton is saying it, it's for something.
In fact, and judging by what Pogacar has said, the time trial seems to be a consequence of poor planning/lack of training with ITT Bike.
And what he said about feeling better is clearly because he did those two trainings at the altitude in Kigali, and it must have helped him feel better. We'll see if it's enough.
UAE wins by sheer talent accumulation and signing the best from other teams. But it's clear they're still doing a lot of things wrong.
The approach to the Vuelta was terrible; they won stages because the riders they have. Just look at the fact that Ayuso won two stages against Movistar riders, a guy signed to lead Lidl. But the way the general classification was approached. was a disaster.
That's the epitome of what they're all about: they win by having best riders, not by doing things right. With a mediocre squad, they'd have a lot of problems, like in 2019-2022, when Pogacar rescued the team from mediocrity. Then they started signing Almeida from QS after a 2021 great season, Ayuso, and all the junior talents like Morgado.