UAE Team Emirates seems to be playing the mental game ahead of the Tour de France. Wout van Aert believes that, he thinks that the claim that Adam Yates will co-lead UAE Team Emirates together with Tadej Pogacar is not quite true but instead an attempt to shift pressure away.
“It will only change if Yates shows that he is on the level of the other two he is a real challenger. But if not, it won't change anything. I think it's a mind game," van Aert said in a press release on the eve of the Grand Depart in Bilbao. Van Aert will be contesting stages - possibly the opening day right away - but his biggest task throughout the three weeks will be of helping Jonas Vingegaard take on a second Tour de France win.
A difficult but plausible task. UAE Team Emirates present themselves very strongly into this year's race, with Adam Yates coming as Tadej Pogacar's right-hand man possibly. Mauro Gianetti, UAE Team Emirates DS, claimed Yates will be co-leading the team, whilst Pogacar himself also pointed towards Vingegaard as the main favourite to win the race. Van Aert believes that he sees through what are "mind games".
With Pogacar coming in with unsure form, it's quite possible that the team is trying to deflect his ambitions so as to suffer from less media pressure and responsibilities. One thing is for sure, with the opening stage featuring the terribly steep Côte de Pike near the finish, and stages 5 and 6 featuring serious high mountain terrain, we will soon find out in which form do the riders find themselves into the race.
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