"Why do you even need Soler?" - Thijs Zonneveld would much rather see Florian Vermeersch in UAE's Tour de France selection
Cycling
UAE Team Emirates - XRG have once again fielded a monster team for Tour de France - just like their main challengers Visma | Lease a Bike. But the selection around Tadej Pogacar still seems to leave something left to be desired, especially with the chaotic first week up ahead.
"I might not be objective because I raced with him at the Tour de Suisse and got my ass handed to me," said Sam Oomen in the Live Slow Ride Fast podcast. He refers to none other than the overall winner Joao Almeida. "I think he’s made another step forward and is better than last year. Also, if you look at his results in the races he’s done this year, he’s been very successful."
Winner of three big stage races in a row, Almeida may be there for Pogacar, but could cause some chaos in the GC on his own. "Imagine you get a race situation where only a small group remains, and Almeida hasn’t had to work yet. If he still has something left and hasn’t had to ride because Visma has made the race hard, he’s not just going to drop off voluntarily. I’m really curious."
Joao Almeida won the 2025 Tour de Suisse
Oomen then illustrates the incredible level of Portuguese rider with a previously untold story. "I don’t know exactly how good he is, but he took the KOM (fastest time on Strava, ed.) on the Monachil, in the heat. That’s a really relevant climb. It’s permanently warm there and you’re sweating. It’s a climb that doesn’t flow: steep, flat, steep, flat…"
The Portuguese rider subsequently removed the evidence to keep his cards hidden, but it did not escape the Dutchman's attention. "He uploaded that ride to Strava for about an hour and then deleted it. Florian Vermeersch did a lead-out there. And Joao just flew past. If you take a KOM there, you’re really a serious player."
Florian Vermeersch or Marc Soler?
Speaking of Vermeersch, Thijs Zonneveld also mentioned him in his podcast In de Waaier. "What a fantastic team for the whole Tour. But a lot will fall on the shoulders of Nils Politt and Tim Wellens. Who do I miss? Florian Vermeersch! I wouldn’t take Marc Soler," is his assessment.
Florian Vermeersch and Tadej Pogacar also happen to be good friends
Vermeersch might've been the decisive factor in preventing a potential disaster, Zonneveld thinks: "They need an extra person to position Pogacar in the first eleven days. They’re taking this risk again. They’ve gotten away with it often in recent years. But they systematically and structurally take a big risk, which wasn’t necessary."
On contrary, the role of Soler doesn't seem quite clear to the Dutch journalist: "They already have Sivakov, Almeida, Wellens, Yates. They already have guys who are good in the mountains. Even Politt has done climbs where only thirty riders were left. Why do you even need Soler?"
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- 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
- Good boy Obviously doesn’t need that much help dealing with pressure, as some have suggested. Wiser (and humbler) than many far further along their careers. About offering him the moon, recently someone came up with an explanation of the downfall of a football great (either referring to Maradona or Portuguese Ronaldo) saying it was kind of normal after coming back from the moon, except that others, including some who actually did go to the moon like Armstrong (Neil in case anyone is too switched off to realise) didn’t go through any of the same motions after coming back. A lot of how you deal with situations has less to do with the situation than with your character.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
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