🎥 Two wins in two days for @TamauPogi at the #TDF2022, we showed that our team is really strong. 🤟🏻💛 To Paris with Love - Episode 5: youtu.be/yfBqDngqCcQ #UAETeamEmirates #WeAreUAE
UAE Team Emirates have taken the yellow jersey in Longwy and have controlled the stage all day long en route to Planche des Belles Filles so as to launch Tadej Pogacar into the stage win. However, with the high mountains looming ahead, a new challenge will come for the defending champion's team.
“Tadej is the best rider I’ve seen in my life, but I also know Primož and Jumbo is such a good team and maybe you don’t beat him one on one, but you set up little situations," Bennett told Velonews, putting more attention onto the Slovenian and not on Jonas Vingegaard who sits second in the overall classification. "They have the advantage of having two guys that are dangerous. That just means that Tadej needs guys a strong team around him, which he does and the stronger you are, the more everybody tries to flick you, so you need a better team.
Bennett has been given the task of protecting Pogacar in the mountains. Alongside Rafal Majka, Brandon McNulty and Marc Soler, the group will have a tough task controlling the race ahead of the expected attacks from Jumbo-Visma and INEOS Grenadiers. The Kiwi is ready for when that happens, and it can be as soon as tomorrow.
“As you become a better rider, you need a better team. We brought a good team here. I expect, I don’t know what day it will be, but there will be one day where it goes absolutely apeshit. Primož goes in the break, Sepp [Kuss] drops everybody, you know," he added. "There’s going to be a situation where we really need to be ready, so we never underestimate them. We expect war every day. Maybe it’s a sprint stage and they put their big guys in the crosswinds. I’ve done enough crazy stages.”
“Every day in yellow is good and I think we survived the first week really well. We got a little bit of criticism because we weren’t lined up with all eight guys doing the old trains, but Tadej had guys with him," Bennett pointed out. Over social media the criticism was far sharper towards Jumbo-Visma, who have struggled with crashes and mechanicals towards Arenberg and saw Primoz Roglic shed crucial time.
However, Bennett remains very cautious regarding his former teammates: "You also saw today how strong Jonas and Primož were so we’re going to have a really big battle. As a fan of cycling, I’m looking forward to it.” This morning Vegard Stake Laengen abandoned the race with Covid-19, bad news for the team not only in the reduction of firepower but also with the risk that now runs through the team.
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- Most of these have nothing to do with rider safety or are completely unachievablevappaxbipmv23-12-2024
- Depends on how fast the Cipressa would be beforehand and in what condition Philipsen would bevappaxbipmv23-12-2024
- Some things sound crazy until they aren't, what if he's actually right? 🤷vappaxbipmv23-12-2024
- Why make a comment to state the obvious? Of course MvdP is much better at CX than Pogacar, does anyone doubt that But that wasn't his pointvappaxbipmv23-12-2024
- If you look at road alone obvi Pogacar is the better rider. But maybe MVDP is the better overall rider since he can win in three plus disciplines?mobk23-12-2024
- Correction on 2021 Olympics. It was mainly the Dutch ladies who didn’t know who was leading the race. Other teams like the Germans and Italians knew that Kiesenhofer was out front.mobk23-12-2024
- A champion turning into a sore loser. Or is he on coke again?
UltimateOpportunist23-12-2024 - If you look at the major races they’ve both been in, van der Poel had the early edge as lately Pogacar has had the advantage. It’s all on procyclingstats.RidesHills23-12-2024
- I wouldn’t assume Tadej can’t win at cross. He did a cross race, not a World Cup, a few years ago and crushed the field. It was a minor race. But he can win anywhere.mij23-12-2024
- I wonder what would happen if Pogacar attacked on the Cipressa instead of the Poggio in San Remo? Would MvdPoel still be able to follow?Ride197423-12-2024