"That is mentally tough" - UAE's Matxin on Jonas Vingegaard and Visma, Tadej Pogacar and Grischa Niermann's departure

UAE Team Emirates Sports Manager Joxean Matxin has opened up on Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar's impending Tour de France duel. The Slovenian is set to defend his crown next month at the Grand Boucle, but faces a revitalised Vingegaard after he won the Giro d'Italia.

Opting for a different approach to the Tour, the Visma | Lease a Bike leader took a leaf out of Pogacar's book as he swept up five stage wins and a comfortable general classification victory in Italy, re-igniting debate about whether the Dane can challenge Pogacar's French dominance.

Indeed, despite the workload of a full grand tour, Vingegaard has managed his workload with a lighter spring, aimed at ensuring he arrives at the Tour as fresh as possible. however, for Matxin, the lighter race days doesn't tell the full story.

"If you subtract his 21 race days (in the Giro, ed.), there aren't practically that many race days left," Matxin told Marca. "He rode about 35 or 36 days, of which about 15 were in races like Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya."

The UAE boss noted the mental burden of altitude camps in the lead-up to two grand tours, claiming that being away from home for such a long time would affect any cyclist, not just Vingegaard.

"Still, riding a Giro and a Tour involves much more than just the number of race days. If you do altitude training for the Giro and then another one for the Tour, that is mentally tough.

"Being away from home for so long is tough for any cyclist; I am not talking about a specific case, but in general."

Matxin won't get drawn into making predictions about July, but instead focuses on Pogacar and his preparation - while also noting that ensuring his teammates in support reach their peak is crucial.

He added: "There is no point in anticipating too much what might happen. We are convinced that the preparation has been good, the riders are in good form, the team is excellent, Tadej is the best in the world, and the group around him is also at its peak."

He warned that Visma's squad pose a challenge in controlling the race: "We are talking about cyclists like Jorgenson or Van Aert, who can be decisive in many cases, like last year in the Giro. These are riders you cannot ignore or assume are no longer crucial simply because they lost time at a certain point or were not in a breakaway."

In summary, despite Pogacar's dominance as he chases a third Tour in a row, Matxin is under no illusions of it being a walk in the park for the Slovenian.

"It is also true that Tadej has won the Tour four times in the last six years, but Jonas Vingegaard twice. That perfectly reflects the level of the competition and the importance of every detail in a race of this caliber."

One notable absence for Visma will be sports director Griescha Niermann. He'll join Lidl-Trek later this year, but will not be part of the Dutch team's staffing line-up in July. Matxin offered his opinion on his absence.

He added: "I don't know exactly how the relationship ended, whether it was an agreement where someone had to stay until the Tour, or if an early departure triggers a different decision not to participate. Depending on how these conversations are conducted, one scenario or another could unfold."