UAE send warning to rivals: "We are not afraid of Jonas Vingegaard, we are not afraid of anyone"
Cycling
With the Giro d'Italia now firmly in the rear-view mirror, all eyes are turning towards the 2025 Tour de France. In the traditional pre-Tour preparation race at the Criterium du Dauphine, the all-star trio of Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel are set to do battle and it's fair to say that the former's UAE Team Emirates - XRG are full of confidence.
"We are sticking to our plan, which we believe is the right one. We are definitely aware that Vingegaard and Evenepoel will be at the highest level in the Tour, but we will be too," an optimistic UAE Team Emirates - XRG sports director Andrej Hauptman previews in conversation with RTVSlo, ahead of the Criterium du Dauphine. "We are not afraid of Vingegaard, we are not afraid of anyone."
"The Dauphiné will be a real test for the Tour de France with the same organiser and similar competition," continues the DS. "Tadej will definitely be at a top level there, we are used to him being in top shape all season. We will see where we are, and then add the finishing touches with his altitude training camp."
Already this year, Pogacar has shown his strong form is not slowing down any time soon, taking the win at the UAE Tour, Strade Bianche, the Tour of Flanders, La Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege. The Tour de France is a different kind of challenge than the one presented in the Spring Classics however, with riders tasked with keeping form and keeping safe over three weeks.
"Every three-week race is brutal, but the biggest difference is created by the riders themselves. In the Tour, in particular, the competition is at its highest, and the pressure is massive," analyses Hauptman. "The first week in northern France could be very nervous, and we'll have to be very careful. Having a strong team to handle all those stages will be important."
"There are quite a few climbs where Tadej has not yet won, including the Col de la Loze," Hauptman concludes, excited about the route presented by the Tour in 2025. "That will definitely be extra motivation for him."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
- How can you use a photo post incident to judge the incident itself (which is not hard to find if you’re prepared to invest the same amount of time in searching as writing that comment? It’s harsh but technically right even though this or worse is not always sanctioned in every race. The two things that went against MS (who unfortunately for her would still have won without making her mistake) are that it was not a bunch sprint where there could have been an overlooked incident or mitigating circumstances explaining a deviation. Everything was focused on just those 2, Schreiber was riding beautifully balanced which made her sudden deviation look unnatural stroke as if it could have been in some part intentional whilst she was slowly drifting ever closer towards the barrier to a point that would have reached obstruction level. In her defence, it might have been the realisation she was heading towards that that made her react suddenly and caused the deviation involuntarily. In any case, congratulations to her for the ride of her life, in people’s minds she will be credited for it.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
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