Not Sivakov or Soler - UAE have chosen on their final Tour de France climber to support Tadej Pogacar

On Monday most of the teams that have not yet announced their lineups for the upcoming Tour de France will do so, and amongst the team to beat there will be a change. Felix Grosschartner is set to take the final spot in the team, ahead of other names that have proven themselves as great domestiques for Tadej Pogacar.

This decision has been up in the air all year long, and mostly due to one big reason: The Giro d'Italia crash. Adam Yates fell and suffered a concussion; but above all Marc Soler - both lined up for the Tour - suffered a femur fracture which would not allow him to recover on time for the Tour.

Pavel Sivakov, part of the lineup in previous years and a valuable domestique for the World Champion, was not given the position - which could potentially be related to his reported departure towards Decathlon CMA CGM Team next year.

This made the decision process an interesting topic, that did not have a clear answer. The likes of Mikkel Bjerg and Jhonatan Narváez rode the Giro but would fit in well in the block, but at the same time so did Felix Grossschartner.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport's Ciro Scognamiglio, the decision was made to call up the Austrian for the Tour. At the end of the day, a logic decision taking into consideration the results he has achieved before.

He was only part of Pogacar's Tour crew on one occasion, back in 2023. But the 32 year old's level continues to grow by the year and he has served in domestique roles for other team leaders at UAE since. Despite being a supporter all year round, he has achieved some meaningful results of his own.

He was Top10 at the Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana and the Figueira Champions Classic early in the year; he was third on the opening time trial of Itzulia Basque Country behind only Paul Seixas and Kévin Vauquelin; and at the recent Tour de Suisse he finished 16th on GC despite being the man that guided Pogacar through the queen stage. This past week he won the Austrian time trial national championship and finished second in the road race.

With 11 Grand Tours under his belt - and racing one every year without exception since 2017 - he is the rider who will complete the team, which is to be announced soon.