Juan Ayuso the big GC hope as Tadej Pogacar's support team step up Tour de France preparations at the Critérium du Dauphiné
Cycling
After Tadej Pogacar's thunderous victory at the recent Giro d'Italia, some of those who'll be the UAE Team Emirates' leader's key teammates at the upcoming Tour de France are set to test their legs at the 2024 Critérium du Dauphiné.
Leading the line for UAE Team Emirates at the pre-Tour de France warm-up will be recent Itzulia Basque Country winner, Juan Ayuso. “Since Romandie I took a little bit of a break and after I have just been building up slowly again. We’ve been training really well as a group at altitude the past weeks and the atmosphere is good with lots of guys going well so we’re aiming to be up at the sharp end of the racing," the Spaniard previews. "The Dauphine now will be a good tester before the Tour de France. Obviously the big goal will be the Tour, and it will be my debut there too which is a dream. There are some nice months of racing coming ahead and we’re keen to get started.”
Although testing their legs ahead of the Tour de France will be Pavel Sivakov, Nils Politt Marc Soler and Tim Wellens as UAE Team Emirates don't quite send the team of superstars to the Dauphine that they will to the upcoming Grand Tour, Igor Arrieta and Michael Vink are reliable domestique options to complete their lineup over the next week.
Whilst Pogacar is resting, recuperating and refocusing between Grand Tours, some of his Maillot Jaune challengers will be in action at the Dauphine such as the likes of Primoz Roglic, Remco Evenepoel and Sepp Kuss among others, with Ayuso having the possibility to land a potentially decisive mental blow to Pogacar's main rivals.
UAE Team Emirates for 2024 Critérium du Dauphiné:
Juan Ayuso
Michael Vink
Marc Soler
Igor Arrieta
Pavel Sivakov
Tim Wellens
Nils Politt
Michael Vink
Marc Soler
Igor Arrieta
Pavel Sivakov
Tim Wellens
Nils Politt
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- He will be lol, but he can still win on the climbs hahaawp04-11-2026
- I would love to have his inconsistency. How many wins this year? 2 TdF stages, a WC, a Euro championship, San Sebastian, multiple wins early year. Monument podiums. I'd take it. I don't think he has a chance in the TdF, but he is still amazing.mij04-11-2026
- He's not going to win the TdF. Maybe if they make every single stage a TT he could win. But I still believe Tadej would just sharpen his TT skills and win.mij04-11-2026
- You beat me to it. Should he make a full recovery (likely) and go light early in the year. One, two, three. Don't ask me, I don't give a damn. Should he be on a Feel-Like-He's-Fixin'-to-Die High.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- The deciding factor may be the (TBD) number of (any type of) kilometers without Pogacar.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- Unexplained chronic fatigue is an all too common bitch. The hard to find definitive answer may lie buried in gut mechanisms. A mystery of the deep.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- It's weird to say Evenepoel would be making a "serious mistake by adding the 2027 Giro d'Italia to his calendar, warning that such a decision could even be interpreted as a lack of confidence in his ability to win the Tour de France." It may well be a mistake but with so many commentators (of all sorts) continuously claiming almost everything Remco does as being a mistake, almost nobody should care what the pundits and the disparagers should say. His team may not want him to do the Giro, and that matters. But it's possibly or probably up to Remco to decide and it may not have to be decided on until a month or so ahead of the race. Yes , Remco is inconsistent much like the majority of the best riders but he's enjoying a period of not having been recently injured (or sick). Whatever he does he need not be concerned with critics who will second guess any perceived failure no matter what. I suspect he will have enough other races on his schedule so he won't be considering it. But the worst reason to not race it is because of what some will say - humorous that be.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- I'll say clean sweep all grand tourZamorano04-11-2026
- And the place he calls home is in Slovenia with his parents.RidesHills04-11-2026
- I think Tadej will be working on his new C7 TT position for the Tour de France :-)frieders304-11-2026
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We are ready for #Dauphiné 🇫🇷 starting on Sunday! Meet our team in France: 🇪🇸 @Igorarrieta9 🇪🇸 @juann_ayuso 🇩🇪 @PolittNils 🇫🇷 @PavelSivakov 🇪🇸 @solermarc93 🇳🇿 @Michael_Vink 🇧🇪 @Tim_Wellens #UAETeamEmirates #WeAreUAE
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