Pogačar to lead experienced team in search of third Tour title
UAE Team Emirates have officially unveiled the team heading into the Tour de France (29 June-21 July) which gets underway in the city of Florence, Italy for the Grand Depart.
The team heads into the 21 stages led by the former two-time winner of the race Tadej Pogačar, with a mix of climbers and rouleurs to support the Slovenian.
The 25 year old who most recently won the Giro D’Italia in May will face challenges along the 3492km course which begins in Florence with a 206km road stage to Rimini before moving west entering France through the Alps after passing through cities like Bologna and Torino. The race will conclude in Nice on July 21, with a move away from the traditional finish in Paris.
Sports Manager Joxean Matxin Fernandez (Spa) will lead the squad alongside Sports Directors Andrej Hauptman (Slo), Simone Pedrazzini (Swi) and Fabrizio Guidi (Ita). The team is comprised of 8 riders
Tadej Pogačar (Slo)
Juan Ayuso (Spa)
Pavel Sivakov (Fra)
Marc Soler (Spa)
Nils Politt (Ger)
Adam Yates (GB)
Joao Almeida (Por)
Tim Wellens (Bel)
Pogačar: ”It’s already my fifth time coming to the Tour, and I’m really excited about it. We’ve worked really hard all year as a team to prepare for this and we hope we can give everyone watching 3 weeks of exciting racing.
It’s nice also to be going back to an Italy again to start the Tour. Obviously, I’m coming from there with good memories of the Giro and thankfully I can say that preparation has gone very well since then. I took a bit of a break after Giro and then the past weeks have been fully focused on the Tour.
We’ve spent a lot of time together as a group training at altitude and put in a lot of hours in the saddle. We’re in a really good place as a group and I think now we just can’t wait to get started and hope to fight for the win and put on a good show.”
Yates: “I think as a group we’re in a really good place and know what we have to do to support Tadej. We’re aiming for the win, and we know if things go our way it’s possible so it’s just a matter of staying focused and pulling together all the way to Nice.”
Almeida: “It’s my first ever Tour which is exciting and I’m proud to be going there as part of a very strong team with big ambitions in the race. The Tour de Suisse was a nice confidence booster and confirmation the condition is good so we’re ready to get things going.”
Ayuso: “I’ve dreamed of being at the Tour de France since I was a kid so to be here about to start my first Tour feels amazing. It’s a privilege to be part of a race like this in a team like this so I will try and soak it all in as much as possible, but we have a big objective also and that is to win. We’re coming from a good block of training at Isola and the group is really united and motivated so we can hope for good things over the next three weeks.”
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