Dubai: Tour de France champions UAE Team Emirates made their first official public appearance in the country when they visited the Emirates Group Headquarters on Thursday.
The team landed in the UAE the previous day for their annual training camp to prepare for the season ahead with the start of the seven-day UAE Tour, scheduled to get under way on February 21.
This is UAE Team Emirates’ first public appearance in the country after they clinched the historic win at the Tour de France with Slovenian Tadej Pogacar donning the iconic yellow winner’s jersey.
In addition to the yellow jersey, the 22-year-old Slovenian rider conquered another two jerseys on offer at the Tour de France, including the White Jersey as for the ‘Best Young Rider’ and the Polka Dot Jersey as ‘King of the Mountains’.
The team continued their victorious streak over the course of the 2020 season, winning various stages at the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta d’Espana.
Emirates invited UAE Team Emirates onto the rooftop of their headquarters, where Pogacar showed off his cycling skills and pedalled across the recreational running track.
The team later met with Sheikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, and Pogacar presented him with the Tour de France yellow winner’s jersey.
The team then went on to visit a specially-built wall at the Emirates Group Headquarters, with a graphic dedicated to the team’s Tour de France win, featuring a display of a Colnago bike and three winning signed jerseys belonging to Pogačar.
Emirates has been supporting UAE Team Emirates as co-title sponsor ever since the team was formed in 2017. The Emirates brand appears on the front of UAE Team Emirates’ team kits, including cycling jerseys and shorts along with other benefits and rights across the global races the team participates in.
The team has been showcasing the UAE and the Emirates brand across the international cycling world at UCI world Tour events, and has been instrumental in the growth of cycling in the UAE.
Meanwhile, the riders and staff of the UAE Team Emirates have taken the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention-approved COVID-19 vaccine developed by Sinopharm CNBG following the success of the #4Humanity trials facilitated by G42 Healthcare in the UAE.
Atogether 27 riders, including Tour de France winner Pogacar, along with an additional 32 staff received the vaccine.
