UAE Team Emirates is the next team to announce their lineup for the Tour de France. The team did so through a press release. And indeed, as expected, the team's selection is exceptionally strong. Tadej Pogacar will have three luxury domestiques and will be surrounded by experienced road captains and strong climbers.
In the announcement, the big names are highlighted one by one, starting with Pogacar himself. "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," said the Slovenian, who won the Giro d'Italia in May and then fine-tuned his form for the Tour at Isola 2000, but had to leave a bit earlier than planned. "The preparation has gone very well. I took a bit of a break after the Giro and then fully focused on the Tour for the past weeks," Pogacar continued. "We’ve spent a lot of time together as a group training at altitude. 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," said the man aiming for the double.
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Yates and Almeida revealing little about their roles in the Tour de France
Adam Yates won the Tour de Suisse and showed – after a difficult start to the year following a crash in the UAE Tour – that he is ready. Last year he finished third in the Tour, but he says that is not his priority. "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."
João Almeida agrees. The Portuguese rider is making his debut after winning two stages in the Tour of Switzerland and finishing second overall behind Yates. "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 of Switzerland was a nice confidence booster and a confirmation that the form is good, so we’re ready to get things going.”
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What can Ayuso achieve in his Tour de France debut?
Juan Ayuso, the young Spaniard, is also making his debut and is very excited. "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 also have a big objective and that is to win. We’re coming off 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," he said, referring to the team’s ambitions.
The UAE Team Emirates lineup is completed by climbers Pavel Sivakov and Marc Soler, and two strong men for the flat stages: Nils Politt and newly crowned Belgian time trial champion Tim Wellens. There are no other riders who, like Pogacar, are doing the Giro-Tour double. During the Giro, Pogacar was supported by Rui Oliveira, Mikkel Bjerg, Felix Grosschartner, Vegard Stake Laengen, Rafal Majka, Juan Sebastián Molano and Domen Novak.
UAE Team Emirates selection Tour de France 2024
Tadej Pogacar
Adam Yates
João Almeida
Juan Ayuso
Pavel Sivakov
Marc Soler
Nils Politt
Tim Wellens
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