"I don't rule out that he will stay at UAE for his entire career" - Tadej Pogacar's agent believes he is in the perfect teams; reveals how he met Slovenian at 18

Tadej Pogacar is the man of the moment as the Giro d'Italia is only two days away from it's start in Torino. UAE Team Emirates have assembled in Italy, and keeping a close eye on the team's performance is Alex Carera, agent of the Slovenian. In a recent interview, he talks about how he met the now superstar of cycling.

This was in the 2016 Giro della Lunigiana, a youth ranks race in Italy which Pogacar won, and something grabbed the attention of Carera: "Tadej won there on a bike that was much too heavy. That day we stayed at Tadej's hotel. Our suspicion was correct. His bike was 9.5kg or so and he still won," the agent told Het Nieuwsblad. "Not much later we went to Komenda, in Slovenia. We talked to him for ten minutes and that was enough for him to sign a contract with us when he was 18."

The following year he turned pro with the Continental Slovenian team ROG - Ljubljana, and in 2019 he took the leap to World Tour as a 20-year old, and immediately started winning. Right now, riders are already signed at 19 or even 18 years of age, fresh off the junior ranks. But in UAE Team Emirates Pogacar found a structure that suits him well and does not want to leave.

"What matters most to him are the people around him. He would prefer to have the same mechanics, soigneurs, PR people and sports directors in his area. And he wants them to be happy. That saves him stress. Tadej has a close bond with the team. He almost won his first Tour on his own, but today he can rely on very strong riders around him," Carera says, before adding an interesting bit of information: "I don't rule out that he will stay at UAE for his entire career."

Carera's eyes will then be on the Giro throughout this month of May, not only because of Pogacar but also another rising star under his wing, Cian Uijtdebroeks. "It's only his second Grand Tour, but Cian wants to grow every year," he says of the Belgian rider.

Although Uijtdebroeks hasn't showed the same consistency this year at Team Visma | Lease a Bike, he gets the chance to fight for the overall classification at the Corsa Rosa and have a leading position. "A place in the top five of the final classification would be a nice step for him. Who knows, maybe that will earn him the white youth jersey. That's what he dreams of."