"We count on everyone, we are not Team Pogacar" - UAE's Tomas Gil Martinez

UAE Team Emirates have had a season that was rarely ever matched in the past. Tadej Pogacar headlined it with a monstrous year that was according to some the best season ever by a pro cyclist, but the team won over 80 races with over 20 riders, making it an absolute success.

“That's right, Hirschi himself has already won eight times and a total of twenty riders have won. That says a lot about our team. We count on everyone, we are not Team Pogacar," Tomas Aurelio Gil Martinez told Wielerflits. "Of course he is the best rider in the world at the moment. He has provided a third of our victories. But we approach every race with the same mentality, and that is a great winning mentality.”

Martinez agrees with the comparisons to the old HTC team, or the classics/sprints dominance that Soudal - Quick-Step used to have. “That is true. You need a great champion at the top of that pyramid like Pogacar, or at the time Mark Cavendish or Tom Boonen at the teams you mentioned. Those kinds of people can be an inspiration to the other guys, they are the types who can push them. Not only their teammates, but also the staff members will make that little bit extra effort. With Pogi in the team, everyone works that little bit harder. They do their job that little bit better. That is the reason behind the victories.”

It's a team that was all-round motivated, having tremendously strong leaders, many climbers and classics riders that were given opportunities in what was a very vast calendar from January to October, and a huge budget that allows the team to have a star-studded roster.

“Yes, but it is much more than just money. Money is of course a part that helps us to provide our riders with the best, to solve problems. But keeping everyone happy is not just a question of money," Martinez also adds. "It is also about understanding the needs of the riders and offering them the ideal environment to perform. It is precisely keeping both riders and staff happy that is directly reflected in the results.”

“We also have important people in our team, such as [Joxean] Matxin with his sublime scouting. He has the perfect eye to discover the young riders in time and to improve them into the top riders they are now." Safe to say that the team's finances and scouting work continues to net them some of the very best talents in the sport. "We didn't buy Pogi for millions, right? We helped him grow in the team. That is at least as important. The money goes to performance and retaining our top riders.”

He was also asked about Pogacar's dominance this season, and Martinez argues that it was the right thing to do to aim for so many victories with the Slovenian whilst he showed that he was able to chase them.

"Of course Pogacar is certainly very strong, but he himself was also surprised by his performances this season. When you are that strong, you just have to grab everything you can. Strike while the iron is hot. Maybe it was different twenty years ago, when someone like Miguel Indurain gave away some stages," he says.

“For the other teams, that must not be fun. But if they had Pogi in their team, they would probably approach it the same way. Everywhere you go, you get negative comments. But we are certainly not going to change our approach.”