Dubai: UAE Team Emirates have unveiled the team heading into the Tour de France, which gets underway in the city of Bilbao, Spain for the Grand Depart next Saturday.
The team heads into the 21 stages of the Tour, to be held from July 1-23, led by the former two-time champion of the race Tadej Pogacar, with a mix of climbers and flat-terrain experts to support the Slovenian.
Serious competitiors
“The Tour is one of the biggest events in world sport and we’re very pleased and excited to be a part of it. As a team we have worked so hard to prepare and everything is where it needs to be, we have a very good group. There will be some serious competitors, but that will always be the case in the biggest races. We are going there to put on a good show and, of course, with the aim of victory,” Pogacar said.
The 24-year-old will lead the challenge, which begins in Bilbao with a 182km road stage before hitting the Pyrenees mountains, moving eastward towards the Alps and finally on to the Champs Elysees in Paris for the ceremonial finish.
Sports Manager Joxean Matxin Fernandez (Spain) will lead the squad alongside Sports Directors Andrej Hauptman (Slovenia), Simone Pedrazzini (Switzerland) and Marco Marcato (Italy).
The team is comprised of eight riders:
Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia)
Rafal Majka (Poland)
Mikkel Bjerg (Denmark)
Felix Grossschartner (Australia)
Marc Soler (Spain)
Matteo Trentin (Italy)
Vegard Stake Laengen (Norway)
Adam Yates (Great Britain).
