.
The tectonic plates of cycling will shift Monday when Tadej Pogacar debuts his rainbow jersey season at the UAE Tour.
Fresh out of a four-month off-season of KoM-gobbling and social media trollingPogačar is expecting to set the tone for Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, and the Tour de France.
“I’m really excited and motivated to start the season. Luckily I can say that I had a pretty smooth preparation for this first part of the season and I’m feeling good and ready to go,” Pogačar said Friday.
“It’s been a few years now since I’ve raced UAE Tour and I must say I’m looking forward to it.”
UAE Emirates-XRG is going in heavy for its home seven-day tour.
Jay Vine, Mikkel Bjerg, and sprinter Juan Molano line out alongside the world champ for the opening stage Monday.
Teammates aside, Pogačar will of course be star of the show after his for-the-ages 2024 season.
“I’m confident to lead the team and I will have strong support around me, both from my teammates and from all the support we get from the fans in UAE whenever we race there,” Pogačar said in a team press note.
“The important thing is we put a good show and really push to win the title in the home race.”
We’re excited to announce our lineup for the next World Tour race on home soil, led by @TMANPIGI .
See you on the road at @uae_tour !#Tareae #Uetour pic.twitter.com/CUWgvNDUeF
— @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamEmiratesUAE) February 10, 2025
A first step toward Flanders and France
Guess what?
The world expects Pogačar to dominate the GC next week in a roster loaded with sprinters.
Physiology guru Javier Sola tweaked the dials on Pogačar’s training program through the winter to make him even stronger and more explosive than before.
“We’ll wait and see in the winter if I can improve some more. For now it looks good,” Pogačar said in December from team camp. “We will see in the first races if I can be better.”
Two summit finishes and a 12km ITT stand to be Pogi-fied next week in the race for the overall red jersey.
But for Pogačar, the UAE Tour will be only a warm-up.
The 26-year-old starts his season “proper” next month at Strade Bianche ahead of his quest to win Milan-San Remo and beat back the cobblestone brawlers in the Flemish classics.
And maybe Paris-Roubaix after?
Who knows.
Grand tour reveals and A.I. updates
Pogačar’s return to the UAE Tour for the first time since he won the overall in 2022 will be as much a sponsor junket and media parade as it is a season-goal.
Away from the bike, it’s expected Pogačar will confirm he will race the Vuelta a España this summer rather than the May Giro d’Italia.
Team UAE Emirates-XRG is promising an update on its potentially peloton-shifting A.I. project.
Colnago – which has its flagship store in Abu Dhabi – has skin in the game in seeing Pogi on top of its controversial Y1RS for the first time. Title partner Emirates Airlines will likely also get stuck in to proceedings after it recently confirmed it renewed its backing of its “super team” through 2028.
Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič will be watching the show from afar while they rev up for their debuts at the Volta ao Algarve.
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The tectonic plates of cycling will shift Monday when Tadej Pogacar debuts his rainbow jersey season at the UAE Tour.
Fresh out of a four-month off-season of KoM-gobbling and social media trollingPogačar is expecting to set the tone for Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, and the Tour de France.
“I’m really excited and motivated to start the season. Luckily I can say that I had a pretty smooth preparation for this first part of the season and I’m feeling good and ready to go,” Pogačar said Friday.
“It’s been a few years now since I’ve raced UAE Tour and I must say I’m looking forward to it.”
UAE Emirates-XRG is going in heavy for its home seven-day tour.
Jay Vine, Mikkel Bjerg, and sprinter Juan Molano line out alongside the world champ for the opening stage Monday.
Teammates aside, Pogačar will of course be star of the show after his for-the-ages 2024 season.
“I’m confident to lead the team and I will have strong support around me, both from my teammates and from all the support we get from the fans in UAE whenever we race there,” Pogačar said in a team press note.
“The important thing is we put a good show and really push to win the title in the home race.”
We’re excited to announce our lineup for the next World Tour race on home soil, led by @TMANPIGI .
See you on the road at @uae_tour !#Tareae #Uetour pic.twitter.com/CUWgvNDUeF
— @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamEmiratesUAE) February 10, 2025
A first step toward Flanders and France
Guess what?
The world expects Pogačar to dominate the GC next week in a roster loaded with sprinters.
Physiology guru Javier Sola tweaked the dials on Pogačar’s training program through the winter to make him even stronger and more explosive than before.
“We’ll wait and see in the winter if I can improve some more. For now it looks good,” Pogačar said in December from team camp. “We will see in the first races if I can be better.”
Two summit finishes and a 12km ITT stand to be Pogi-fied next week in the race for the overall red jersey.
But for Pogačar, the UAE Tour will be only a warm-up.
The 26-year-old starts his season “proper” next month at Strade Bianche ahead of his quest to win Milan-San Remo and beat back the cobblestone brawlers in the Flemish classics.
And maybe Paris-Roubaix after?
Who knows.
Grand tour reveals and A.I. updates
Pogačar will be star of the show next week at his team’s home race.
Pogačar’s return to the UAE Tour for the first time since he won the overall in 2022 will be as much a sponsor junket and media parade as it is a season-goal.
Away from the bike, it’s expected Pogačar will confirm he will race the Vuelta a España this summer rather than the May Giro d’Italia.
Team UAE Emirates-XRG is promising an update on its potentially peloton-shifting A.I. project.
Colnago – which has its flagship store in Abu Dhabi – has skin in the game in seeing Pogi on top of its controversial Y1RS for the first time. Title partner Emirates Airlines will likely also get stuck in to proceedings after it recently confirmed it renewed its backing of its “super team” through 2028.
Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič will be watching the show from afar while they rev up for their debuts at the Volta ao Algarve.
