Dubai: UAE Team Emirates has announced that young Slovenian talent Tadej Pogacar has extended his contract that will keep him with the UCI World team until the end of 2024.
“I am happy to continue my relationship with UAE Team Emirates. I turned professional here and I feel very comfortable with everyone. I believe in the team and I want to be part of this ambitious project,” Pogacar said.
“The next five years will be fundamental for the team and for my career, with the hope that they will be fruitful years for both parties.”
The Slovenian’s latest success for the Abu Dhabi-based team was his victory at the Vuelta Valenciana in the first half of February.
On the final day, the UAE Team Emirates were active at the front with even race leader Pogacar pulling on the front in support of teammate Alexander Kristoff. Deceuninck Quick Step’s Fabio Jakobsen proved quickest in the dash for the line, while Kristoff came in fourth. But that ensured Pogacar the overall honours and the seventh victory of the season for the UAE squad.
Matar Suhail Al Yabhouni Al Dhaheri, President of the Emirati squad, was pleased with the renewal of the contract for the young rider, who turns 22 in September. “Our team has a long-term plan and we are happy that such a talented young man like Tadej has committed to our project,” he said.
“We are a young, but very ambitious team. The aim is not only to win the most important races in the world, but also to promote healthy lifestyles in the UAE. Tadej will help us in both ways because in the UAE they have gone crazy for the team and its cyclists,” Al Dhaheri added.
Team Principal Mauro Gianetti loved the idea of having a youngster like Pogacar leading the way. “There was a willingness on both sides to extend the contract once again (it had been renewed for the first time until the end of 2022). Pogacar represents the type of rider that each team would like - talented with a strong will to learn every day,” he said.
“Values that will project him to the top of world cycling. Tadej won everyone over – not only with his results, but also with his attitude. The rest was just a matter of doing the paperwork.”
