Tadej Pogacar "showed why he is the best rider in the world" at Tour de France - Mauro Gianetti

Cycling
Friday, 04 August 2023 at 11:47
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UAE Team Emirates didn't leave the Tour de France with the overall title but had still a significant amount of success. Team manager Mauro Gianetti has given a summary of the experience and an overall net positive with the wins and spectacle the team delivered.
"Adam Yates took an incredible victory during stage one in Bilbao and Tadej Pogacar took two fine stage wins on his way to the podium. Those guys really showed their class throughout the Tour, but it wouldn’t have been possible without the team," the team manager wrote in a column for The National News. "This year, I think we really showed our strength as a group. This is absolutely key if you want to succeed in any World Tour event, let alone the Tour de France."
The team was stronger than ever in pursuit of the yellow jersey but they were met with an even stronger Jonas Vingegaard. The two battled once again but Vingegaard came out on top again because of his consistency, whilst Tadej Pogacar was virtually evenly matched throughout almost the entire race except for stage 17 where he imploded on the Col de la Loze. At the end of the race the gap between the two was of over seven minutes.
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"Tadej had some real highs and lows throughout the Tour. He showed why he is the best rider in the world with his attacks and stage victories, but also what a great champion he is in the way he fought back to win Stage 20 after some really tough days against Jonas Vingegaard. His character and personality shone through, and these experiences will only benefit him as a rider in the future."  
Most likely he will return in search of that title. The team finished second with Pogacar and also third with Adam Yates who managed to put in a consistent Tour and use his climbing abilities to finish up there, it was an incredibly demanding race packed with hilly and mountain stages right from the get-go where Yates himself won and wore yellow right from the Grand Depart in Bilbao.
"Looking ahead to the Vuelta, the quality of the field is very high but we feel we have a very competitive team capable of producing some great moments. Juan Ayuso will be looking to replicate his amazing performance in 2022, achieving a podium on debut," Gianetti previews. "He is a super talented guy, very ambitious, and no doubt he has a great future ahead of him. He’s worked hard to come back from injury and shown some great form in Romandie and the Tour de Suisse, so I can’t wait to see him perform for us this year."  

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