"I don’t want to risk melting him. And if he wins they'd call us greedy" - Mauro Gianetti reassures there are no plans of sending Tadej Pogacar to Vuelta
Cycling
Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana. The three grand tours every rider dreams of winning at least one. And in 2024, Tadej Pogacar could do impossible and win all three within four months - in a single season. However both the Slovenian phenomenon and his UAE Team Emirates boss Mauro Gianetti continue to confirm that there are currently no plans for the Slovenia to travel to the start of Vuelta in Lisboa on August 17.
"I’m not sending him. It would be too much stress to do a third grand tour with the goal of winning," Gianetti confirmed to Tuttobici reporter. "Sure, if he won he would do something unique, but I have to pay for it in the coming years too. I don’t want to risk melting him. And if I burn him? Then you know, if he were to win they would criticize us saying we are greedy. If it goes badly..."
"As you can see, with what I was telling you, I haven’t been too far. Look, if I were Pogacar at the end of the Tour I would take everything and go on vacation. Never mind the Olympics or the World Championships," nods Mario Cipollini.
But could the normally very ambitious Slovenian force his way through, if he wanted, and try the 'impossible triple'? "And who could stop him? Pogacar is in a position to dictate the law," Cipollini thinks Gianetti would have no choice but to obey if such situation arised. "You have to please a rider like that," is his opinion.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Mmmm would he be making these comments when he was on the richest team when riding. I think not i suspect. If we want money put into the sport we need sponsors who are prepared to put the money in. No disrespect but his team are 2nd or 3rd div in football terms with riders over the hill or 2nd string riders. If i was a sponsor i would be looking at what publicity am i getting back and Tudor really are just making up the numbers really.paultryan200214-11-2026
- I see (elsewhere) that Alaphilippe had more to say than what got relayed in this stub. Me: he was very good early but his latter third trajectory was the pits. His old boss did what he could (huffed and puffed) but Julian couldn't get his greatness back. Sometimes I wonder if crashes that didn't look like much changed the course of the rider.flyer14-11-2026
- I wouldn't classify it as a gift because the nasty consequences of taking it from Sepp would have been great and would persist and he knew it.flyer14-11-2026
- Ok. Tratnik's good and Red Bull's better so Tratnik may get what he wants.flyer14-11-2026
- Ok. So just saying he wasn't enjoying racing anymore is some kind of explanation? Me saying I don't enjoy his explanation is more explaining than he did.flyer14-11-2026
- Buitrago, was he their best rider in 2026? He's the chief loss for them and Martinez and Tiberi (especially) have to step up or they will be overtaken by Bahrain's younger riders like Omrzel. I'm still somewhat high on Martinez but Tiberi, after showing signs of promise, has fizzled. Bahrain still has a good team but they need to improve and exceed expectations. I'd be happy if Mohoric could manage to return to his better form for maybe one last year at least.flyer14-11-2026
- Hmmm, "... I just gained 30 seconds purely off the bike. Because it's really a big, big improvement compared to the previous bike". Is that marketing for Specialized or serious valid hype, or something in between? Very likely the former.flyer14-11-2026
- Nothing revelatory or controversial. Why do we have to report on Bruyneel's or Armstrong's thinking. It's a shame and enough that the Move's on TV and that people watch it .flyer14-11-2026
- Makes sense that training from home is a big asset or advantage but it's still remarkable that he can put in three quality majors and not pay some heavy price for the exertion. I wish he would have won that tour stage that his crash while leading allowed Carapaz the win. He's a darn good rider and teammate.flyer14-11-2026
- Sounds like we all agree with the over under exaggeration: "The German’s signing does not guarantee that Evenepoel will win the Tour in 2027. "flyer14-11-2026
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Showing that fighting spirit💛🏔️⚔️ #TDF2024 #UAETeamEmirates #WeAreUAE
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