UAE-Team Emirates thread

[tobydawq]

Pogacar, Hirschi, Formolo, McNulty, Covi, Ayuso, Almeida

I think they have a chance in the Ardennes.

 

[Netserk]

Pogacar, Hirschi, Formolo, McNulty, Covi, Ayuso, Almeida

I think they have a chance in the Ardennes.

Ayuso next year, Ulissi this year.

 

[tobydawq]

Ayuso next year, Ulissi this year.

Okay, maybe, I just think Ulissi has proven that those races and him for some reason don't really match all that well. Apart from Fléche Wallonne.

 

[YavorD]

Pogacar, Hirschi, Formolo, McNulty, Covi, Ayuso, Almeida

I think they have a chance in the Ardennes.

What I find scary is that Formolo is the oldest of them all....at 29. With the next oldest (still) 23.
Apparently 29 is the new old .

 

[tobydawq]

What I find scary is that Formolo is the oldest of them all....at 29. With the next oldest (still) 23.
Apparently 29 is the new old .

No, no, that's not old!

 

[SHAD0W93]

No, no, that's not old!

Feels like it everyday that goes by. I have people at work think I’m 35-36 x.x

 

[tobydawq]

Feels like it everyday that goes by. I have people at work think I’m 35-36 x.x

Maybe it's because people are not used to sub-30-year-olds wearing high hats?

 

[SHAD0W93]

Maybe it's because people are not used to sub-30-year-olds wearing high hats?

Are you talking about my pfp? If so no, I don’t wear high hats. Maybe it’s all the cycling drama west and tear.

 

[tobydawq]

Are you talking about my pfp? If so no, I don’t wear high hats. Maybe it’s all the cycling drama west and tear.

Yes, I was, I assumed it was your regular work outfit

 

[Anderis]

It's scary how they went from a team that most riders tended to disappoint in or at least not show anything extraordinary compared to their perceived level of talent (apart from Pogacar) to maybe the best team in the peloton in the span of one winter.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Yes, I was, I assumed it was your regular work outfit

Maybe after I graduate on my days off.

On a side note, if you’ve never seen the show you absolutely should that Neal Caffery is in.

 

[Netserk]

It's scary how they went from a team that most riders tended to disappoint in or at least not show anything extraordinary compared to their perceived level of talent (apart from Pogacar) to maybe the best team in the peloton in the span of one winter.

Change took time, at first it was just Lampre with more money. Kristoff, Aru and Dan Martin came onboard at the same time as Matxin, now the latter has had time to really build the team.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Change took time, at first it was just Lampre with more money. Kristoff, Aru and Dan Martin came onboard at the same time as Matxin, now the latter has had time to really build the team.

They started to improve once he replaced all the old Lampre staff members that had been leeching around Saronni.

 

[TomBonnen2005]

Matxin and Gianetti are the best. Even Pogacar can thank them. He was a good junior/U23 but nothing crazy (5% win ratio for 144 junior-U23 racedays versus 20% win ratio for 173 elite racedays). Guys like Hayter, Schelling, and battistella were regularly bossing him before he went there.

edit: crazy if you compare with Evenepoel who had a win ratio of 75% with the juniors without previous cycling experience and then went to a 18% win ratio but mostly non world tour races. What a waste...

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Matxin and Gianetti are the best. Even Pogacar can thank them. He was a good junior/U23 but nothing crazy (5% win ratio for 144 junior-U23 racedays versus 20% win ratio for 173 elite racedays). Guys like Hayter, Schelling, and battistella were regularly bossing him before he went there.

edit: crazy if you compare with Evenepoel who had a win ratio of 75% with the juniors without previous cycling experience and then went to a 18% win ratio but mostly non world tour races. What a waste...

Remarkable to say the least, but not necessarily suspicious. I'm currently of average height, but only started to grow rather late. As a kid i was one of the oldest of the class (january child) but there were usually only 3 or 4 kids in my class smaller than me. I remember being 10 years old, 124cm tall and weighing 24kgs.
Look at Van Aert, who got bossed by Van der Poel because he was physically smaller and skinnier until he nearly turned 17, started growing, became taller and more muscular than Van der Poel.

Pogacar has been said to also have been a small and skinny boy that started growing relatively late. If that's the case...

 

[TomBonnen2005]

Remarkable to say the least, but not necessarily suspicious.

Nothing supsicious, just amazed by how much a cyclist development can be accelerated/slowed down based on:

• Skipping or not the U23
• Starting cycling early or not
• The entourage and the team
• ...

Being the best junior cyclist in the century without prior experience does not guarantee to be better than another cyclist who won 8 races out of 142 before becoming a pro (Pogacar).

UAE just seem to handle young cyclists way better than other cycling teams.

 

[Anderis]

UAE just seem to handle young cyclists way better than other cycling teams.

That's a very recent development. Take away Pogacar, and up until the start of 2022, they have been pretty mediocre.
Gaviria has never been the same since he left QuickStep to join UAE.
Ardila and Munoz have been so average.
McNulty and Bjerg have not shown as much in 2020-2021 as I had expected.

Only in 2022 it started to look good with McNulty, Ayuso and Covi all showing great form and even Joel Suter coming with some results out of the blue.

 

[Skijumper Roglic fan]

I think UAE‘s strenth also has mental reasons. The riders know, „Here we‘re in the best team in the world, our leader Pogacar is the best rider in the world, and with Gianetti and the sponsor we all make REALLY big money!“…

That gives you a mental push, and increases self-confidence. They are also highly regarded within the peloton.

It was the same with USPS. The riders knew, we have Lance, are the best team, and so they rode. With great success.

 

[Bolder]

I think UAE‘s strenth also has mental reasons. The riders know, „Here we‘re in the best team in the world, our leader Pogacar is the best rider in the world, and with Gianetti and the sponsor we all make REALLY big money!“…

That gives you a mental push, and increases self-confidence. They are also highly regarded within the peloton.

It was the same with USPS. The riders knew, we have Lance, are the best team, and so they rode. With great success.

Yeah, I think this is a big part of it, and I would not underestimate the money part. Given how unstable the bottom half of the WT habitually is, I'd be riding my a** off at UAE to make sure I didn't wind up in a Qhubeka/Astana situation.

 

[Skijumper Roglic fan]

Yeah, I think this is a big part of it, and I would not underestimate the money part. Given how unstable the bottom half of the WT habitually is, I'd be riding my a** off at UAE to make sure I didn't wind up in a Qhubeka/Astana situation.

Exactly.

Astana was actually one team I thought of when I wrote my post. Qhubeka is/was an even better example.

 

[SafeBet]

That's a very recent development. Take away Pogacar, and up until the start of 2022, they have been pretty mediocre.
Gaviria has never been the same since he left QuickStep to join UAE.
Ardila and Munoz have been so average.
McNulty and Bjerg have not shown as much in 2020-2021 as I had expected.

Only in 2022 it started to look good with McNulty, Ayuso and Covi all showing great form and even Joel Suter coming with some results out of the blue.

I don't really agree on Covi. He has steadily developed since turning pro with them despite the shortened season in 2020 and a knee injury at the beginning of 2021. It was only a matter of time before he started winning races, considering his skill set.

You're right on the others.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I think UAE‘s strenth also has mental reasons. The riders know, „Here we‘re in the best team in the world, our leader Pogacar is the best rider in the world, and with Gianetti and the sponsor we all make REALLY big money!“…

That gives you a mental push, and increases self-confidence. They are also highly regarded within the peloton.

It was the same with USPS. The riders knew, we have Lance, are the best team, and so they rode. With great success.

Since when is UAE the best team in the world? I must have missed the memo. Take away Pog over the past 2 seasons and you're left with an ultimately forgettable squad. Hirschi and Gaviria have done diddly squat at UAE. It's actually telling that i had to check the team line-up to see who rode for UAE last year.

 

[TomBonnen2005]

Since when is UAE the best team in the world?

Irony? The comparison with US Postal seems a bit sarcastic

 

[Skijumper Roglic fan]

Since when is UAE the best team in the world? I must have missed the memo. Take away Pog over the past 2 seasons and you're left with an ultimately forgettable squad. Hirschi and Gaviria have done diddly squat at UAE. It's actually telling that i had to check the team line-up to see who rode for UAE last year.

For me, it‘s: TdF > any other race.

And then: TdF winner‘s team > any other team.

So for me, UAE is team #1.

My ranking would be (1-5):

UAE

Ineos
DQS
Jumbo
Bahrain

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

For me, it‘s: TdF > any other race.

And then: TdF winner‘s team > any other team.

So for me, UAE is team #1.

My ranking would be (1-5):

UAE

Ineos
DQS
Jumbo
Bahrain

I see, so in 2006 Caisse d'Epargne was the best team in the world. Good that we've got that figured out then.