Five Quick Factors…Emirates Emirates

Mauro Gianetti’s sons look to have had a great year. Only this? not so fast…

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1. What does Pogačar’s career mean now?

Look, it’s pointless to talk about whether Tadej Pogačar will win the Tour. The interesting thing about this season for me is, whatever he does, what does that mean for the bike going forward? Ok? OK, stay with me. Let’s say he makes the strong spring classics he intends to do, and then wins the Tour. Does that mean top tour players can play as much as they want? Or, if he loses the Tour, is that a watershed moment for all-around cycling, in a bad way? Just now I was thinking about being a hero to broaden my horizons, but now I have to think twice?

The Pogs will again be under heavy pressure from Jonas Vingegaard, who was also part of the conversation, as he aims to keep his program as Tour-centric as possible until July. If it works…I don’t know, maybe it changes something. Maybe we’re back to the bad old days of overspecialization. Or maybe we just recognize that Vingegaard is a special talent in the three-week game and Pogs is just a different guy. Maybe we overreacted and insisted that Tour contenders play no more than five days before July. They also shouldn’t eat anything.

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2. Is Jay Vine a winter signing?

Sweet luv-a-Christ… What’s in the Vine? ! ?There’s a temptation to think he’s hopped off his Zwift and headed straight into the Vuelta’s breakout…it’s not quite How his career has progressed, it’s not that far off – he broke through the Zwift Academy in 2020 and was awarded a contract, but then he also won the 2022 Esports World Championship, not long after… Detachment at the Vuelta. Anyway, he’s 27 years old, so he’s both a late bloomer and a fast riser. He did retire late in that race, taking away the KOM title, but he has already completed the Vuelta in 2021, finishing second in the Tour of Norway before winning two stages in Spain, At the same time, it became the daily protagonist Mountain Range. This landed him a UAE contract and he has already added the Aussie Nats ITT title to his CV.

So is this the best move by any of the big teams in the latest transfer season? For big-tour contenders, I think so. INEOS brings in Thymen Arensman (wait, didn’t I mention him last week?) and Jumbo adds Wilco Kelderman, who might be a more stable veteran version of Vine. Jumbo getting Dylan van Baarle is pretty big too, but avoiding the apples to oranges thing, I’d say Vine and EF bringing in Richard Carapaz are probably two moves that make me really like their team’s chances on tour, maybe A bigger signing for Arensman eventually, though not this year. This is called moving the needle.

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3. Are they the best team in the world?

Alright…now let’s talk about it. Let’s start with past performance. They are fourth in the most recent UCI ranking (for relegation purposes), which covers three seasons – Jumbo are first. Just last season, CQ placed UAE in third place, some 500 points behind near-tied INEOS and Jumbo. Quick Step leads the way in victory, ahead of UAE and INEOS. Under the (very superior) Podium Cafe/FSA DS points system, the UAE has risen from fifth place in 2019 to third for several years in a row and number one overall in 2022. Every system gets them to the top.

If you look at the top 3 (excluding Soudal Quick Step, they are still good but not as deep as Jumbo or INEOS), I would say UAE is the best team in both disciplines – Grand Tour and other climbing events – but in So far in the cobbled and flattering classics, I don’t think I can predict their No. 1 spot this year. If Pogačar goes crazy in the spring, maybe he alone can keep them on the field. I do think their Tour de France team will be incredible at some point. We’ve seen what the Pogs can do with Brandon McNulty. Plus João Almeida, Majka and Adam Yates for sure, maybe Vine and/or Ayuso at some point, it’s just a stacked team. Their classic chance again comes down to Pogs, plus Marc Hirschi (who’s really just getting started), and vets like Ulissi, Trentin and Tim Wellens, and you get them flexing their muscles everywhere. Their load capacity is astounding. in some games. But not all.

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4. I am the captain now

Lordy… Pogačar’s hunger for victory is something, but on a team with so many rising stars, is everyone fed? There’s nothing in Pogs’ behavior that suggests he’s the next Hinault, and he’s willing to thwart the ambitions of his own teammates if he has some message he feels he needs to send. No, I hope that when Almeida, Ayuso, McNulty or Yates are ready to win a game with Pogačar, they get their chance. Or this whole Juggernaut thing won’t last long.

Too many leaders on a team has long been a problem in cycling, probably as long as it was a team sport, but one way to relax is to have a super awesome #1 guy that everyone respects, And if that’s not how they talk about Pogačar behind their backs, then they need to get real. My expectation is that the season will end perfectly peacefully, as everyone approaches the new arrangement with a certain amount of patience — especially McNulty and Ayuso, who know they still have so much time and room for improvement. Almeida is also young, and Yates probably knows what his ceiling is by now. Whether anyone has patience with the system in 2024 is another matter. But I think those people will buy this year, no matter how crowded the quarter-deck looks.

5. Kit History Review and Vote!

Not many collaborations with the UAE era, they were basically the same colors and logos, but before that, they were… shall we say, colorful teams? So let’s get started.

2023: Black sleeves I guess?

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If you can spot the difference between here and below…

2022: Oh! Red armpits!

Photo by Bas Czerwinski/Getty Images

2020-21 Spare Kit:

THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images

Well, a little flashy.

Photo by ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP via Getty Images

Oh, very tasteful, not to mention ideal for a hot day. All excellent options.

2020: Moar Flag, less black

Photo by Brenton Edwards/AFP via Getty Images

The UAE flag has been reduced to a subtle paint swatch from this earlier release to showcase it more prominently, in case you still don’t believe Lampre moved to the Arabian Peninsula. The white shoulders also lighten things up a bit compared to almost every other UAE jersey.

Initial 2017-18 Edition: Emirates! Emirates! Emirates!

Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Because then you really need to know who paid the bill.

The Lampre years…here are the highlights. Last Lampray:

Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The lime green accents remind me of cantilever shirts and whale belts from the 80s. Not the fondest memory.

2013: The pinkiest pink ever!

Photo credit should be YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP via Getty Images

Ugh… Italy.

2010 Classic Lighting

Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

It’s hard to hate. original version (below)

2005: It’s time!

Photo by Lars Ronbog/FrontzoneSport via Getty Images

Once your eyes get used to all the pink, this one looks pretty bland. I want my pink dopamine!

2004: How can we forget?

Image credit should read DAMIEN MEYER/AFP via Getty Images

original. Riders and uniforms.

Unfortunately, the polls are very restrictive and don’t allow you to tick all your favorite boxes. You have to pick one, even if it means choosing between the UAE version you love and the Lampre version you fondly remember. Feel free to elaborate in the comments. I’d definitely choose from Lampre’s selection, not so much out of nostalgia but out of boredom with the endless stream of drab offerings in the UAE.