Tadej Pogačar will defend his Tour de France yellow jersey this summer, UAE Team Emirates have confirmed, as they announce which of their squad members will headline each Grand Tour this season.
Twenty-two-year-old Pogačar will then go on to tackle the 2021 Vuelta a España, the Spanish stage race being where he made his Grand Tour debut, catching the attention of the cycling world as he won three stages and finished third overall.
Pogačar will be supported by new signing Marc Hirschi, another young rider who took the 2020 Tour de France by storm, attacking at almost every opportunity and eventually taking the stage 12 victory for his efforts.
Alexander Kristoff will also line up for his ninth Tour, having won his fourth stage last year on stage one, providing a neat bookend of yellow jerseys for UAE Team Emirates.
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Former Italian champion Davide Formolo will head to the Giro d'Italia, accompanied by the talented young American Brandon McNulty and Colombian sprinter Fernando Gaviria. McNulty finished 15th overall at the 2020 Giro, his debut Grand Tour, coming close to a stage win on two occasions, finishing second behind Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) on stage 10, before a third place in the individual time trial on stage 14.
Alongside Pogačar at the Vuelta will be David De La Cruz, as well as new recruit Matteo Trentin, who has joined from Mitchelton-Scott. UAE Team Emirates say the full line-ups for each Grand Tour will become clearer as the season progresses.
In between the Tour and the Vuelta, Pogačar will ride the road race at the Tokyo Olympic Games. In preparation for the Tour de France, he will begin his season at the UAE Tour before heading to Italy for Strade Bianche and Tirreno-Adriatico. Then, it's the Tour of the Basque Country, Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and finally the Critérium du Dauphiné.
It's been an eventful start to 2021 for the team, with Diego Ulissi set to undergo an "in-depth electrical mapping of his heart" in order to try and remove the arrhythmias (a problem with the rate or rhythm of the heartbeat) that was found during a routine medical evaluation.
Meanwhile, 59 riders and staff received a coronavirus vaccination at the start of January in the UAE.
27 riders and 32 staff members received China’s Sinopharm CNBG vaccine, which has been approved by the UAE Ministry of Health & Prevention.
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'Maybe I am out of my comfort zone' — Tadej Pogačar ahead of his first Tour of FlandersTwo-time Tour de France winner says it is going to be a "crazy race" on Sunday
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João Almeida victorious on top of Boí Taüll on stage four of the Volta a Catalunya
UAE Team Emirates rider wins stage, but Nairo Quintana moves into leader's jersey
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Tadej Pogačar wins Strade Bianche with stunning solo attack
The UAE Team Emirates rider becomes the first Tour de France winner to win the Italian classic
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Matteo Trentin sprints from the front to win Le Samyn
Italian rider triumphs out of leading group on tough day in Belgium
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'Having a team like this gives you goosebumps': Pogačar credits team after UAE Tour triumph
Slovenian takes control of leader's jersey after stage four
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Tadej Pogačar 'pretty happy' with fourth place in UAE Tour time trial
The Slovenian sits fifth on general classification after three stages
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'Nonconformist' Marc Hirschi 'makes cycling spectacular' and will return to previous levels after injury setbacks
The Swiss rider will start his season later due hip surgery, the injury that has troubled him for three years
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UAE-Team Emirates will not use train-like tactics to help Tadej Pogačar: 'We will not contract champions to work as domestiques'
Pogačar is the outright favourite to win the Tour de France for a third year in a row
