"2024 domination of UAE puts the feat of Jumbo-Visma last year into the background" according to Cyrille Guimard

In 2023, Jumbo-Visma wrote a unique piece of cycling history, winning all three of the Grand Tours and even locking out the entire podium of the Vuelta a Espana. In 2024 though, their position as the peloton's top dogs has been usurped by the Tadej Pogacar-led UAE Team Emirates.

The Slovenian alone emerged with victories at the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Il Lombardia, Strade Bianche and more in UAE Team Emirates colours, plus a famous Rainbow Jersey victory for Slovenia at the World Championships in Zurich. Add to that notable performances across the year by the likes of Joao Almeida, Adam Yates, Marc Hirschi, Juan Ayuso and others, UAE Team Emirates' 2024 has far surpassed the all-conquering 2023 of Visma according to the experienced French cycling expert Cyrille Guimard.

"The 3 Grand Tours, a full podium on one of them, for Jumbo-Visma, no one had ever done it before. But it goes very quickly today, to remember what happened a year or two ago, you almost have to go looking for the archives. And this domination of UAE puts the feat of Jumbo-Visma last year into the background," explains Guimard in his column for Cyclism'Actu. "There are always explanations, we are not one year above everyone and the next year bad. I think that, first, there was the serious fall in the Basque Country with Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel... These two riders still had an influence on the course of the season that followed, which may have also favoured UAE a little."

"And when the leader flies, the teammates fly. When you have a great leader, you have great teammates. These same teammates in another team without a great leader, to take away 20% of your performance. Collective motivation is something extraordinary," Guimard continues, praising the Tadej Pogacar effect. "When there is this euphoria of victory, it wins, it is logical, it is normal. And it is all the more logical since it is the team that has the biggest budget and which consequently has the best riders, the best youngsters... Now, will it last long or not? That is another subject. But it is not abnormal that UAE dominates two in this way today, given the elements that I have just brought up."