"Without Pogacar, it's chaos... Ayuso is an arrogant brat" - Experts savage UAE’s Vuelta tactics

UAE Team Emirates - XRG’s handling of the opening week of the 2025 Vuelta a Espana has come under fierce scrutiny, with Dutch analysts warning that the squad looks a shambles in the absence of Tadej Pogacar. What should have been a dominant show of depth has instead been described as “chaos” – with star riders failing to work together and João Almeida left isolated at key moments.

Former pro Roxane Knetemann was particularly blunt in her assessment. “When Pogacar isn’t there, it’s chaos,” she told the In het Wiel podcast. “And in this Vuelta they’re doing nothing to change that image – if anything, they’re reinforcing it. It’s a team full of stars, with so much talent. They can all accept that Pogacar is better, but among themselves it seems they really struggle.”

Knetemann fears the dynamic could even see the squad implode. “At some point, you all have to get back on the bus together, right? I think Almeida is the type who says nothing. Juan Ayuso, though, is a bit of an arrogant brat. That’s something cycling needs, but in this case both he and Almeida are in their own little world, headphones on. The team management just goes along with it – they think: let them get on with it.”

Almeida’s lack of support was again exposed on the climb to Valdezcaray, when Jonas Vingegaard launched his decisive move. Juan Ayuso, supposedly one of UAE’s strongest weapons, cracked before the climb had even begun.

“That was just incredibly unsupportive,” noted journalist Marijn Abbenhuijs. “I liked it on Friday when he put his fingers in his ears – I saw that as a rider not letting himself get provoked. But what he did today… he could have done so much more for Almeida. He could have helped to keep the gap to Vingegaard smaller.”

The critique reflects a broader concern that UAE’s stars are racing for themselves rather than the collective, with no clear strategy emerging around Almeida, who remains the team’s best-placed GC rider.

Vingegaard’s acceleration left Almeida floundering on Valdezcaray. Some suggested the Portuguese rider’s positioning was to blame, but Knetemann dismissed that.

“I thought it was nonsense to suggest Almeida wasn’t in the right place – he was there,” she countered. “He’s just not the kind of rider who can react immediately in those moments. It’s not really about positioning, more about his profile: he usually claws his way back. This time, though, he couldn’t – Vingegaard was simply too strong, even on the less demanding sections.”

Knetemann was particularly impressed with the Dane’s control. “Those final kilometres, which were much less steep and where riders like Almeida and Pidcock should really have been able to work together, Vingegaard still held them off. They didn’t get any closer. To me, that’s even more impressive than what he showed at the start of the climb.”

For all Almeida’s quiet resilience, the consensus among experts is that UAE lack the cohesion and tactical nous needed to support a grand tour contender. Where the squad looked rock-solid around Pogacar at the Tour de France, their Vuelta campaign is unravelling in real time.

“It’s a star-studded team, but if they can’t find a way to work together, the pressure will only grow,” Knetemann warns in conclusion. “Right now, it looks like chaos – and that’s the last thing Almeida needs if he wants to keep his GC hopes alive.”