<\/p>\n
Bakelants points to the calm confidence running through UAE
\nTeam Emirates.
\n\u201cThey ride through the peloton with such confidence, always relying on their
\nown strength, and everyone seems to be in excellent form. Many of their riders
\nhave also won recently.\u201d Almeida is a perfect case in point. \u201cHe just won the
\nTour of Switzerland plus three stages. He will have no problem riding in
\nsupport of Pogacar at the Tour. It\u2019s easier to do that with your pockets full
\nthan when you\u2019re empty-handed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turning to Visma\u2019s key men, Bakelants admits he has \u201cHe won the Giro, but I have a different feeling about him. Yates was able to Questions linger over other pillars of the team as well, \u201cWhere That disappointment, Bakelants notes, was \u201cyet another one.\u201d Age could also be catching up with some of Visma\u2019s By contrast, UAE appear to have a more balanced mix of youth Ultimately, Bakelants believes it all points to one clear \u201cPogacar has been able to keep building without any physical
\nreservations about whether they can mount the same collective challenge as in
\nprevious years. Simon Yates<\/a>, fresh off his Giro victory, might not be at the
\nsame intensity.<\/p>\n
\ntick off his big dream so late in his career, and it\u2019s almost inevitable that
\nsome decompression follows. That must have done something to him, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\nhas Sepp Kuss<\/a> gone? Is he still the man he was two or three years ago, when he
\nwas among the top three climbers in the world? And how good is Matteo Jorgenson
\nreally? I don\u2019t get the impression you can play him as a second leader like
\nthey did with Primoz Roglic. In 2022, Vingegaard and Roglic were able to team
\nup and put Pogacar in a vice, and they succeeded in cracking him, but I don\u2019t
\nsee that happening with Jorgenson.\u201dVisma also face concerns around Wout van Aert<\/a>\u2019s condition,
\nafter yet another setback, \u201cUnfortunately, Wout van Aert is also dealing with
\nhis share of bad luck again. That stomach issue he had was real: he came back
\ndown from altitude specifically for the National Championships because he saw a
\nreal chance at a new title.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nHe\u2019s equally uncertain about Tiesj Benoot\u2019s form. \u201cI also don\u2019t know where
\nTiesj Benoot stands. He was supposed to go for the GC in Switzerland, but that
\ndidn\u2019t happen due to a crash. How good is he now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\nexperienced core: \u201cThe riders of Visma | Lease a Bike are starting to get
\nolder. Van Aert, Benoot, Campenaerts, Kuss, Yates: they\u2019re all past 30. Still
\nreally good riders, no doubt about it, but they\u2019re not going to get better
\nanymore. It\u2019s like wine: they\u2019re nearing the end of their drinking window. At a
\ncertain point, wine is still enjoyable, but it doesn\u2019t improve anymore, and
\neventually, it gets worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nand experience, \u201cBut at UAE, Almeida, at 26 years old, is a teenager. Sivakov
\nis 27, Narvaez 28: those guys are in the prime of their careers. Of course they
\nalso have some older riders, Wellens, Soler, Yates, but the mix is healthier.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nconclusion, \u201cThey know as well that if nothing unexpected happens, there\u2019s an
\neighty percent chance that Pogacar will win the Tour again. Two years ago, he
\nwas still beatable, but the world looks different now.<\/p>\n
\nsetbacks. He has been able to build month after month on top of a good previous
\nmonth. It\u2019s like at the bank: you have capital that earns interest, but you
\nalso get interest on that interest. That\u2019s profit on top of profit.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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