Ineos Grenadiers have announced their lineup for the upcoming UAE Tour and, as to be expected, it is stacked with talent.
The team has put all their focus on the general classification and a potential time trial stage win as well, completely ignoring the sprint stages, as you would expect considering they don’t really have a sprinter in their roster.
The out-and-out leader is likely to be defending champion, Adam Yates, who is down to make his long-awaited debut for the British super-team. Yates was in commanding form at the race last year, taking a stage win as well as the overall ahead of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) who also returns.
>>> UAE Tour start list: Chris Froome, Tadej Pogačar and Caleb Ewan all down to race in 2021
A potential second option, fresh off the back of overall victory at the Tour de la Provence, is Iván Sosa, he will likely be in a supporting role, but also a very useful tactical play should they need him, much like at Provence.
Favourite for stage two victory is time trial world champion, Filippo Ganna, with the 13km pan flat individual time trial possibly the most ideal route for the Italian.
Another potential general classification rider could be 2020 Critérium du Dauphiné and Tour de France stage winner, Daniel Martínez, who is also making his debut for the team. This new influx of GC talent may work perfectly or cause yet more conundrums for the team that has a vast array of GC riders already.
The final three riders are three very important ones, Andrey Amador will be there to set up the climbs for the leader, whoever that is.
Luke Rowe will help guide the team’s main man in the potential crosswinds on the flat stages in the wide open spaces of the UAE desert.
Brandon Rivera is the last man on the list, likely to be the first man on the front of the peloton, setting the pace before hitting the final climb where he will likely peel off. He will also hope to have a good ride in the ITT.
The UAE Tour starts this coming Sunday (February 21) and has attracted a plethora of talent due to several other big races being cancelled, this means the first WorldTour race of the season has been inundated with some of the biggest names in the sport.
Ineos Grenadiers UAE Tour lineup
YATES Adam
SOSA Iván
GANNA Filippo
MARTÍNEZ Daniel
AMADOR Andrey
ROWE Luke
RIVERA Brandon
