Albeit we’re still yet to get an official information, it appears as though Tadej Pogacar will not ride the Vuelta a Espana this summer. That leaves Jonas Vingegaard as a sole overwhelming favourite to win the Spanish Grand Tour. A task that certainly appears simple on the paper – after all Vingegaard was so far above everyone not-named Pogacar at the Tour that it is hard to imagine anyone to suddenly attempt and take his throne. But the main challengers will once again wear the haunted UAE Team Emirates – XRG jerseys as young duo Joao Almeida and Juan Ayuso aim to sercure the number 2 spot in team hierarchy.”First of all, it’s a shame for the race, because we had all hoped to see the two duel again, and see if Jonas Vingegaard could take revenge. But it’s not that surprising, because Pogacar really looked tired on Sunday, and that’s understandable with the program he’s been running this year,” former rider Christian Moberg told TV 2 Sports.
“It makes the chances of success much greater, and after the Tour we just saw, you can just say that it makes a big difference for Jonas whether Pogacar is there or not. The Slovenian is the only one who has beaten Jonas. Sepp Kuss did it, but he almost got the victory from his teammate at the Vuelta two years ago. Pogacar and Vingegaard have stood out from the others in the last four years, and there is no one who is on par with the two,” says Moberg.
The Dane agrees that even without their Slovenian star, the Emirati team cannot be underestimated. “UAE will probably field the strongest team anyway, and it will be exciting to see. Almeida retired early from the Tour de France and will probably come back flying, while Ayuso has also been riding well. Those are two good cards in the classification, and they can test him.”