UAE-Team Emirates thread

[Anderis]

With Hirschi, Politt, Bjerg and Laengen that may be too many non-climbers. UAE's team for the Tour has always been Pogacar + 4 climbers + 3 rouleurs in recent years. Unlike Jumbo, which has many great classics riders, UAE has probably the most climbing depth in WT, so it seems a waste to make the roster rouleur-heavy and take just 3 climbers to help Pogacar.

It seems that I was right and UAE's TdF roster will be more climbing heavy.
Pogacar, Almeida, Ayuso, Yates, Soler, Sivakov, Wellens and Politt according to PCS.

 

[Rob5091]

Pogacar, Almeida, Ayuso, Yates, and Soler all on one team, what could posibly go wrong? I hope there's a TV camera in the DS's car.

 

[Unchained]

Camp ends on the 21st and have not seen any video of Del Toro dropping Pog..I can always dream!!! Feel happy for young riders on UAE lots of veterans and experience winning in every kind of race..University of Bike Racing

 

[Miss Violet Smith]

It seems that I was right and UAE's TdF roster will be more climbing heavy.
Pogacar, Almeida, Ayuso, Yates, Soler, Sivakov, Wellens and Politt according to PCS.

I remember wishing Pogačar all the help he could get for TdF 2024. And lo! and behold, the wish was granted in the most UAE way possible.

 

[Rob5091]

If I'm Visma's team boss, I'd say go hell for leather on the gravel stage and see how good the UAE climbers cope. If WvA does the Tour, it could be really fun.

 

[Offline]

Pogacar, Almeida, Ayuso, Yates, and Soler all on one team, what could posibly go wrong? I hope there's a TV camera in the DS's car.

Soler is a clear domestique in that team. Also UAE Soler is not Movistar Soler.
Yates also showcased he can be a good domestique for Pogacar. And without Majka, I see Yates take that role.
Almeida I can see as a good domestique and at the same time get a top 10-15 in GC.
Ayuso should ride his own chance next to Pogacar.

 

[Salvarani]

Soler is a clear domestique in that team. Also UAE Soler is not Movistar Soler.
Yates also showcased he can be a good domestique for Pogacar. And without Majka, I see Yates take that role.
Almeida I can see as a good domestique and at the same time get a top 10-15 in GC.
Ayuso should ride his own chance next to Pogacar.

Majka, Yates and Pog was training not too long ago in the off-season.

Yates and Pog was working great together in the Tour and Lombardia.

 

[Offline]

If I'm Visma's team boss, I'd say go hell for leather on the gravel stage and see how good the UAE climbers cope. If WvA does the Tour, it could be really fun.

If I was Visma team boss, that's the stage I would be most nervous about. Pogacar are levels over Vingegaard on a stage like that.
And he don't have a bad team for that stage. Wellens have top 15 in the last 3 version of Strade Bianche. Politt can handle first 100km of the stage + position. Ayuso doing both Clasica Jaen and Strade Bianche this year. As well as Soler was a good domestique in Strade Bianche the year Pogacar won.

For me that stage are only bad for Vingegaard/Kuss and Almeida/Yates.

 

[Jan the Man]

I would tend to agree that the gravel stage poses the biggest risk for Vignegaard

 

[Offline]

On another note.. It looks like Marc Hirschi skipping GT's again this year.

I understand UAE, Marc Hirschi can win a hell lot of races outside the GT's and isn't the ideal domestique.
He almost was in top 10 in all races he did in the fall.

hot take: Hirschi wins Amstel and San Sebastian in 24.

 

[Rob5091]

Cian says he does not want a soap opera, but pro-cycling has always been more a circus and the big top in July at the Tour seems to be offering up a cracker - straight from the UAE clown car-

Ayuso speaks,
https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...ive-up-any-opportunity-that-the-race-proposes

"Tadej is the leader, but I'm not going to give up any opportunity that the race proposes. I'll go out to try to win a stage and, depending on how it goes, fight for my personal goals for the overall. Raising my arms there would be a huge thrill."

 

[Skijumper Roglic fan]

Btw, when I recently saw UAE‘s 2024 jersey, I immediately had the feeling that this new jersey looks really similar to Bahrain‘s jersey for 2024. I hope this won’t be a problem. I have difficulties to separate them. In the races, they could appear TOO close to each other…

Am I the only one thinking that way?…

 

[Froome]

Cian says he does not want a soap opera, but pro-cycling has always been more a circus and the big top in July at the Tour seems to be offering up a cracker - straight from the UAE clown car-

Ayuso speaks,
https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...ive-up-any-opportunity-that-the-race-proposes

"Tadej is the leader, but I'm not going to give up any opportunity that the race proposes. I'll go out to try to win a stage and, depending on how it goes, fight for my personal goals for the overall. Raising my arms there would be a huge thrill."

It will be really fun in the Tour to see emirates riding "as a team" 😂

 

[scribers]

Spectacular it will be !

 

[Rob5091]

The really fun part of the whole UAE circus next year, could be if UAE get the yellow jersey early. As we saw on stage 5 at this year's Tour, they do seem to put guys in the break and then have to chase them down.

 

[scribers]

If you’re in the leaders jersey you are generally obligated to chase down a break. Even if one of your riders is in it. There are finer details of all the riders in the break that dictate response

 

[Rob5091]

Unless of course the team wants to give away the jersey, or the team is so weak it loses it. How many times have we seem the peloton roll in 10, 15, even 20 minutes after the winner?
Stage 5 at the tour though was one big c*ck up by UAE who let Hindley and 30 others get 4 minutes up the road, then had to get Bjerg and Laengen to chase them down.

 

[SHAD0W93]

If you’re in the leaders jersey you are generally obligated to chase down a break. Even if one of your riders is in it. There are finer details of all the riders in the break that dictate response

Obligated but they should make Visma do all the work. They’re the two time defending champs and favorite, it’s their turn to work. Like how all the other sprinters teams started making HTC and Quickstep do all the work when Cav was there.

 

[Salvarani]

Cian says he does not want a soap opera, but pro-cycling has always been more a circus and the big top in July at the Tour seems to be offering up a cracker - straight from the UAE clown car-

Ayuso speaks,
https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...ive-up-any-opportunity-that-the-race-proposes

"Tadej is the leader, but I'm not going to give up any opportunity that the race proposes. I'll go out to try to win a stage and, depending on how it goes, fight for my personal goals for the overall. Raising my arms there would be a huge thrill."

It is for strategy purposes. That Visma better watch out for Ayuso.

And that Ayuso has own ambitions is not strange.

If he is strong enough to actually be a rival and danger, it is a win-win for the team.

 

[Froome]

Obligated but they should make Visma do all the work. They’re the two time defending champs and favorite, it’s their turn to work. Like how all the other sprinters teams started making HTC and Quickstep do all the work when Cav was there.

Bora will also have to do some work with Visma in that scenario. Bora did a "all in" to win the tour de france, they will go there with a great team, and his leader has 34 years, it's one of his last chances to win the tour, he is not getting young.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Bora will also have to do some work with Visma in that scenario. Bora did a "all in" to win the tour de france, they will go there with a great team, and his leader has 34 years, it's one of his last chances to win the tour, he is not getting young.

But again Bora doesn’t have to do any work if they don’t want to. Both teams should make Visma burn their candles and run over Visma at the end, like UAE did multiple times.

 

[Froome]

But again Bora doesn’t have to do any work if they don’t want to. Both teams should make Visma burn their candles and run over Visma at the end, like UAE did multiple times.

By that logic Visma also doesn't have to do any work if they don’t want to.

I respect you're opinion, but you are assuming that Bora and roglic doesn't have the same responsabilities of Visma or even emirates in a inverse scenario. They all would have to do the work if they want/wanted to win the Tour.

 

[SHAD0W93]

By that logic Visma also doesn't have to do any work if they don’t want to.

I respect you're opinion, but you are assuming that Bora and roglic doesn't have the same responsabilities of Visma or even emirates in a inverse scenario. They all would have to do the work if they want/wanted to win the Tour.

They don’t have the same responsibility. Visma is the two time defending champion and huge favorite. It their responsibility more than anyone’s.

 

[Froome]

They don’t have the same responsibility. Visma is the two time defending champion and huge favorite. It their responsibility more than anyone’s.

I' not saying visma doesn't have pressure and a lot of responsabilty, because like you said, they are the two time champion, but Bora and roglic also will have a lot of pressure and responsibility because Bora never won the Tour, it's they're main goal, they invested for that, and roglic is not getting young, he doesn't have many years left to win the Tour.

 

[Rob5091]

Yates says it will "be a bit of a challenge" - love the understatement!
https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...4-tour-de-france-lineup?comment=1658#comments
"I think it will be good, I mean I think it will be a bit of a challenge," Yates said. "Last year, we had almost like the perfect team in a way, with the big guys, the medium guys and the climbers. So, next year will be a little bit different with a lot more climbers, but we'll see."