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this trip to the uae Roaring fifth edition Monday in calendar’s second WorldTour stage race actually Gateway to Spring Classics and Marquee Stage competitions.
Two-time defending champion Tadej Pogačar will not be in attendance, but the Emirates team is strong enough to make home supporters blush.
remco avonpool He returned to the spotlight for the first time since his new professional WorldTour debut in 2019, and Mark Cavendish Will be under the microscope in his first match with top man Cees Bol.
The Big Three of Evenepoel, Cavendish and the Emirates adam yatesJay Vine and Brandon McNulty all carry different pressures on the dunes and city center of the UAE.
Here’s what to look out for next week’s four sprint races, two summit finals and TTT races:
Yates, McNulty, Vine: Home team and leadership
The Emirates team headed to the home race without two-time defending champion and peloton ruler Tadej Pogačar, but took on all the pressure from the country’s own team, opting for seven drivers with the aim of keeping the peloton under wraps.
Adam Yates, Jay Vine and Brandon McNulty topped the UAE’s team roster for a massive multi-pronged competition.
“This race is at the top of the list in terms of goals. Along with the Tour de France, it’s the pinnacle of our season,” said team director Joxon Mattesin Fernandez.
“Our aim is to go back and try to defend our title from last year. Yates will be making his debut with us and will be the team leader, although as a team we will have different options throughout the tournament.”
As if that wasn’t enough of a burden, Yates was the last UAE Tour winner before Pogačar (2020) and has yet to race in his shiny new Colnago.
“I’m really excited and motivated to finally start racing with the team,” he said. “The UAE Tour has been a great tournament and it has suited me well in the past. Wearing the UAE jersey puts more pressure on my back now, but it just makes me more motivated to do well.”
Yates is flanked by a strong support team, including American talent McNulty and Tour Down Under champion Vine.
Could the UAE’s trident deliver yet another trophy?
After four months away from the game, Yates needed to bounce back. Vine is ambitious, with an Australian summer flair. McNulty is firmly in the top 10 overall in the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and is looking to secure a place in the GC hierarchy.
With Pogačar back in the Tour de France this summer and João Almeida in the Giro d’Italia, the UAE “B-team” has Vuelta leadership and superdomestique options for Spain to impress team bosses.
The dynamics of the Emirates team bus next week could be very interesting.
super bowl of cavendish and sprinters
Mark Cavendish, Sam Bennett, Tim Merrill, Dylan Groenewegen, Caleb Iwan, Arnold DeMar and Fernando Gaviria? It’s more or less the Super Bowl in sprint.
Fabio Jakobsen was the only name not to feature in the spectacular sprint race at the UAE Tour.
Unless a couple of notoriously windy desert sections wreak carnage, four perfectly flat finishes will provide the cream of the fast-finishing crop with a chance of bragging rights in the first WorldTour sprint of the season. right.
Cavendish and his Astana teammates are hoping for an early touchdown in this sandy Super Bowl.
The UAE race marked his first vote, with new top man Cees Bol. David Martinelli could also be included in the seven-man squad for Astana Sprinters A if Martin Raus is also there.
Unlike Bennett, Ewan, Merlier, Groenewegen and Gaviria, Cavendish has yet to open accounts for 2023.
The Isle of Man sees no chance in his 2023 Oman debut and hopes to get his train on the track as he rumbles to potential Giro d’Italia testers ahead of his much-hyped Tour de France challenge.
What about the rest of the UAE’s elite sprinters?
The Emirates race marks the gateway to a strong WorldTour season, with each of the four quick finishes offering opportunities to smooth out the kinks in the lead and dig in early on in the season-long sprint scramble.
Evenepoel and the lessons from Argentina
“I made a stupid move.”
That’s the imprint of Remco Evenepoel’s reckless attack on what could have cost him a spot on the podium at the Vuelta a San Juan last month.
Evenepoel and his striped jersey are in focus for 2023 as Tadej Pogačar rounds the UAE. The 23-year-old has made the UAE Tour one of his first big goals of the season, with the race believed to be his step towards a Liege-Bastogne-Liege defense and Giro d’Italia attack Key stepping stones.
Evenepoel takes the title favorites to the UAE tour and all eyes will be on the performance of the Rainbows after a mistake could prove pivotal in Argentina.
“We head to the UAE with a lot of confidence thanks to the strong team we have in this game and the two leaders who have shaped us – Remco and Tim [Merlier] – Great performance in the first race of the season,” said team director Geert Van Bond.
A duel with Giro rival Primož Roglič will take place in Volta Catalunya in March.
Evenepoel and his team of Quick-Step climbers will be hoping to iron out any “stupid moves” by the UAE, helping the world champions compete in the final early-season race of the 2023 streamlined race programme.
“Every race I run is about getting on the podium or at least winning a stage,” Evenepoel said earlier this year. “I don’t play many games, but apart from San Juan, they are all at the highest level.”
After Emirates, Catalunya, the classics are coming soon.
At the start of the year, none of the problems in the UAE tour will be critical. But as his game grows more prestigious and powerful this month, they’ll see the pressure mount on the young star’s shoulders.
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