Thus we come to the new emerging power on the world cycling stage. Finally, finally, this UAE team lineup looks not just like a ramshackle of riches, but instead finally a powerful and formidable hierarchy of established talent ready to do battle across the entire cycling calendar. This team rose from the ashes of the ailing Lampre team and was injected with rich money from Middle Eastern oil tycoons. The team is a marketing tool for the country, to show off their prestige and abundance of wealth. But only one or two years ago, the abundance of wealth was surely flaunted and yet the structure was not there. One or two years ago they’d be signing four or five legitimate or even top class sprinters…but only have maybe one solid lead-out man in the entire team. Truly, in years past this team was a real embarrassment of riches, embarrassing because the results did not match the talent: the talent and wealthy lineup had not the structure to breed success. But over the course of the 2020 lockdown season, UAE seems to have straightened themselves out off the back of their biggest talent—perhaps the biggest talent in the entire sport. Off the back of his and the team’s greatest victory, they stock up arms—sorry, legs—of such power surely they shall be an even more deadly force this year. What heights of glory shall they reach this year? Let us start with their top talent, surely their new talisman, surely the face of their team for years to come.
Tadej Pogacar snatched victory in the 2020 Tour de France from the jaws of assured defeat. Many others would have been happy to ride to second overall in their Tour debut, and Pogacar would have as well. But not so many would have so pressure-free rolled the dice and gone for broke and throw so much weight on a penultimate day time trial like our Tadej did. And we all know the story, even its rumor has reached those who live under the rocks. Yes, on that penultimate day TT on the iconic La Planche del Belles Filles, Tadej Pogacar produced the greatest ride against the clock in the history of the bicycle—it was the greatest Race of Truth. The circumstances (the slaying of the mentor, the conditions of the course, the race lead up, and the implications afterwards) as well as the comparisons (to other legendary time trials performed by Anquetil, Merckx, and of course Lemond) have been discussed elsewhere. Surely, they shall be brought up many times more in the future, but we need not rehash them in such a preview as this. 22-year-old Pogacar returns once again, his objective clearly stated: Defend his Tour title. Have we already entered the Pogacar era last year, and we just don’t know it yet? Shall he alert us this year with another victory? The year before, we saw the similar young talent Colombian Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) win the Tour, but it was a bridge too far to repeat last year. Perhaps Egan’s injuries kept under wraps so well were too severe, perhaps the lockdowns shook up too many things. But let us not underestimate and surely factor in the pomp and circumstance that comes with winning the Tour de France. Life is changed, hype and glory follow you like a shadow for the rest of your life. And it is undeniable that to a certain extent it is a burden: interview after interview, appearance after appearance, party after party. We saw it took most of the 2019 season for Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) to screw his head back on and get his preparation right after he won the 2018 Tour. The hype, the pressure, the preparation, in 2020 it was too much for Egan to get right again after his 2019 performance. But what of Tadej? Shall he fair better? For him, surely this is the silver-lining of the pandemic: all the interviews, the appearances, the parties, the extra commitments probably have not been nonexistent, but surely they have been magnitudes less than usual. Tadej, the soft-spoken, has enjoyed as much relative peace and quiet as a Tour de France champion can possibly receive; surely this shall weigh in his favorite for his second tilt at Tour victory.
Perhaps more importantly this year too, he will not be seemingly alone. That was what was so stunning about his victory last year: Jumbo-Visma was the most dominate team in the race, they blew away all the competition—dealt everyone a crippling blow—except for this Tadej Pogacar who rode their coattails perfectly, and struck with such epic ferocity on the very last opportunity that it was instantly a top legend for decades and centuries to come. His team, plagued by injuries throughout the race was incredibly absent in it all: to reverse such a reality is surely a top priority for this coming year. Davide Formolo and David de la Cruz are surely proper climbing domestiques, and occasionally winners in their own right. They return for another season with UAE, surely they shall be some of Tadej’s Tour supports. Additionally, another weapon was acquired to help Pogacar in the mountains: Rafal Majka. I must say, I love such a signing. Alas! For the past few years, it has seemed Majka’s way was lost, he had lost his mojo or his game. O! Where have the days gone, Rafal, of 2014, 2015, and 2016? When you twice won the Polka Dots Climbers’ jersey, when you finished on the Vuelta podium, when you would ride to memorable swashbuckling victories in the Pyrenean passes—we still remember and love how you would wink at the camera on the way to solo breakaway victory amidst the throes of battle and agonizing toil. Yes, yes, here seems a proper time to take a step back, resurrect your top talents in this the service of another—his victories may be just as sweet as your own. And perhaps, Majka, in the process you shall find amazing form and return to winning ways yourself. O! How I would love to see it. And yet, Majka, let us face new realities, you were not the headline signing of this team this year.
Yes, it was the last transfer of the season, it was the shocking news that broke at the beginning of the new year…already by Team DSM preview was written and ruined. Yes, at the eleven-and-a-half-th hour Marc Hirschi broke his DSM contract and signed with this UAE team. He was the revelation of the Tour, and probably the entire year. On a small salary, and constrained by Sunweb/DSM shotgun team tactics favoring no protected leader, Hirschi decided it was time to jump ship. The details are shrouded in smirky mystery, but some sort of agreement was reached and who could blame such a talent for wanting their pay-day sooner rather than later, and assured leadership to boot. Yes, here at UAE, surely at all the hilly Classics Hirschi shall be UAE’s protected man and top rider—why, should Pogacar attend even some of these Classics even he might subordinately work for this total-package Marc Hirschi, at best in Pogacar will only be leader “1b” in such races. It is funny to think that last year Pog and Hirschi actually already battled head-to-head properly a handful of times at Worlds, Liege, and of course that infamous 2020 Tour Stage 9 where Pogacar got the better of the spent Hirschi. But now, overnight, they are teammates and a formidable force together. Surely it shall be fun to see these two go at it together in the Classics, and come the Tour Hirschi shall surely become Pogacar’s greatest asset in his title defense. Yes, yes, this is what I mean by abundance of riches and finally also structure and hierarchy as well to ensure proper flourishing.
Thus the climbers are covered, but UAE’s depth of talent ends not there. Stalwart and maillot jaune wearer Alexander Kristoff is back once more—that hardman of hardmen. And newly signed to partner with him for the Classics is the talented and admirable Matteo Trentin. Surely a fine partnership they should make. Of a similar mold of rider are they, thus should they be on their best days, they should prove a strong pair to attack and counterattack, to cover or be represented in every move in the Cobbled Classics; and surely they shall be up their in the sprints of the Grand Tour stages. Kristoff is now well up there in age, and Trentin is no youngster, but surely they are still reliable in their proper domains, with their right conditions. Yes, indeed, I do predict they shall represent UAE well, and bring in a healthy haul of wins for the team this season.
And thus we come to the rest of the talented team. Rui Costa and Valerio Conti and Diego Ulissi are proven talents, even if one or two are past their prime or shall never or no longer be top tier headline names. Mikkel Bjerg and Brandon McNulty have showed high promise in the Grand Tours before—Ryan Gibbons in the sprints as well—and surely all wish to capitalize and build new gains this year. Richeze, Marcato, Polanc, Bystrom, Laengen, and Dombrowski are all well proven domestiques and even stage hunters on their day. But there is one man who the question marks are still all over. One man who has so dazzled us in the past, but seems to have lost his way or least tripped over many stumbling blocks for the past few years: yes, the Colombian sprinter Fernando Gaviria. He came onto the cycling world like a lightning bolt a few years ago with Quickstep. His 2017 Giro was astounding with four stage wins and the maglia ciclamino. Surely, at least one or two of those victories were top-shelf-stupendous, they lifted our hearts high, dazzled our eyes, and sent us home happy. He did it again at the 2018 Tour with his two early stage victories as well. He is one of those riders who is so fun to watch, because he is prepared to win any which way. He’ll let Richeze drop him off perfectly in the last 200 meters. He’ll record over 1,000 watts for 20 seconds to hawk down a sprint victory where he was originally horribly placed and far back. He’ll get dropped off too early and win from a charge 600 meters out, and we—our stunned selves—shall try to figure out if we had just watched the longest sprint or the shortest flyer of all time. To revel in victories such as those are beloved affairs! But alas! Fernando, 2019 was a season to forget, and in 2020 when you were not infected with Coronavirus, you just didn’t have the form of the top Herculean man as at the 2017 Giro. O! Please! O! Surely, how I wish to see you return to such form in this coming year Fernando, for as I have described you are such a talent, and one of the finest showmen on your top form.
And with that, I finish my UAE preview. I am sorry, for the names I have not listed, I am sorry to the people I have short-changed. Let it be a challenge or even a chip for you shoulder to make me rue the day I gave you the shaft. But with so many big guns and big objectives for this team on the horizon, please do not be too upset with me. Yes, this UAE team is another team where some level of success is assuredly assured, and the only question is how much shall be achieved in this 2021 campaign.
Cycling Odysseys 