“I hope he attacks early enough so we can catch Aresman and beat him in the sprint. Both of them played a bit on the expectation that the other would attack early enough, but in the end, neither attacked, and Arensman deserved the victory”. Ultimately, it’s not a result that bothers UAE much, as Pogacar survived the final mountain stage and carries over 4 minutes of lead on Vingegaard, whom he will beat directly for a second years in a row.
It’s a special moment for Gianetti who recalls the year when he met the Slovenian. “When I first met him, personally, I had a truly special feeling. It’s the same feeling I had when I first met Roger Federer, when he was 18. He wasn’t yet world number one; he was a young man growing up in tennis. I felt an incredible energy, someone who was truly something more than a champion of a sport. I called my wife and said ‘I think I’ve met someone who’s going to become something exceptional in sport because I’ve never had that feeling’.”
“And when I met Tadej personally, who was 18, I had the same feeling. I felt overwhelmed by a personality, an energy, a calmness; he was the same as Federer. So I said to myself, well, we’re going to be surprised by this guy”.
With Pogacar winning 4 stages in the first 13 days, and the team’s aggressive aproach to blocking and chasing breakaways on some specific days – and riders at times – UAE has been accused of being arrogant by some pundits. “But I don’t think we’ve ever been arrogant,” Gianetti responds. “It’s a shame because I think it’s been a fair battle with Vingegaard and everyone else for the past four or five years”.
“Sometimes we use words or situations to talk about arrogance, but I think it’s wrong because we’re fair, we’re doing our race, and it’s normal for us to try to win. We respect everyone, so I think it’s a bit of gratuitous criticism that goes against what we’ve been seeing for the past five years. The fact that Tadej and Jonas are also strong, who put on a show, and the fact that there are other strong teams like Red Bull, it pushes everyone to work harder, to be more focused, so that this sport is as beautiful as possible. What we’ve seen in recent years is a great story between us and Visma”.
Gianetti, he himself involved in doping scandals in the past, was also asked directly about it, taking into consideration also Pogacar’s stellar performances that are above the entire Tour de France competition. “Cycling unfortunately has a rather unsavory history, but it’s true that cycling has evolved so well now that it’s a bit of a shame,” he adds. “It’s part of an old culture, and it’s difficult to do anything about it. In other sports, we appreciate champions, whether in tennis, basketball, or whatever, but we have a bit of trouble accepting that there are great champions in cycling too.”