“Making the Grand Tour team should be hard” – Why UAE’s newest American is embracing life inside Tadej Pogacar’s support squad

For many riders, moving to the most dominant team in the peloton is about security. For Kevin Vermaerke, it was about the opposite. As he prepares for his first season with UAE Team Emirates - XRG, the American is stepping into an environment where selection is ruthless, expectations are uncompromising, and nothing is guaranteed.

“Making the Grand Tour team should be hard,” Vermaerke said when reflecting on his move in conversation with Cycling News.

Rather than being intimidated by that reality, he has actively sought it out.

Vermaerke arrives at UAE after five seasons with Picnic PostNL, a period that gave him experience across Grand Tours and Monuments but also left him searching for direction. “I felt like I had kind of maxed out my time there,” he explained. “In order for me to keep growing and take the next step in my career, I really needed to push myself into something new.”

That search for clarity is central to why UAE appealed. Unlike teams where leadership can shift race to race, UAE’s hierarchy is unmistakable, built around Tadej Pogacar and a clearly defined support structure. For Vermaerke, that structure is not restrictive. It is motivating.

At the 2025 Vuelta a Espana, thrown in as a late replacement, he repeatedly found himself in long breakaways, only to be beaten by riders wearing the same colours he would soon join. “Unfortunately, I always found myself up against someone that was a little bit stronger,” he said, gesturing toward his new teammates. The frustration of missing out was matched by a realisation that he was measuring himself against the highest possible standard.

That standard is embodied by Tadej Pogacar, whose presence shapes both expectations and opportunity inside the team. Vermaerke is clear-eyed about what that means. “Accepting that Pogacar is the best isn’t part of what we’re about,” he said, explaining that internal competition remains fundamental even inside a dominant structure.

Rather than seeing Pogacar’s level as something that limits personal ambition, Vermaerke views it as a reference point. “Coming into a team like this where I have the best coaches, best nutritionists and best teammates, they’re going to give me the tools,” he said. “It’s up to me to ultimately use those tools to prove myself.”

That environment, he believes, is what separates UAE from the rest. “Everybody’s pushing each other in a really healthy way,” he explained, describing a culture where standards are enforced daily, not imposed from above.

By early 2025, Vermaerke had already decided that change was needed. “I really wanted to go to a top team where I felt like I would get the most out of myself with the resources and the personnel that they have,” he said. Conversations with UAE sporting director Joxean Matxin quickly confirmed that alignment.

What followed was not a promise of leadership or an easier route to results, but a clear-eyed discussion of role, competition and opportunity. “I think I have a good programme of a few one-week WorldTour races where I can help guys like Almeida, Del Toro, Pogacar,” Vermaerke explained. Alongside that, he sees space to race for himself when conditions allow. “Half the time I’ll be doing that and half the time I’ll be doing other races with the opportunity to go for myself and try and get a win.”

That breakthrough victory remains the missing piece. “The next step in my career is kind of getting that breakthrough first pro win,” he said, framing 2026 less as a reinvention and more as a proving ground.

Vermaerke is realistic about what lies ahead. He has even acknowledged that riding a Grand Tour in 2026 is not a given. “Maybe not doing one Grand Tour this year,” he said, outlining a willingness to step back in the pecking order to rebuild confidence and sharpen race craft.

For UAE’s newest American, joining the peloton’s most demanding squad is not about hiding behind success. It is about discovering how far he can go when the bar is set by the best rider of his generation.