With Tadej Pogačar opting not to defend his 2022 title, UAE Team Emirates have selected Adam Yates as team leader with Brandon McNulty and Jay Vine as other options for the general classification.
Yates won the 2020 UAE Tour ahead of Pogačar whilst riding for Mitchelton-Scott and came second to the Slovenian in the last two editions of the race. He has recently been training at altitude and is making his 2023 season debut in his first race for the team after leaving Ineos Grenadiers and signing a three year deal in September last year.
“I’m really excited and motivated to finally start racing with the team. UAE Tour is a really nice race to go to and it’s a place that’s suited me well in the past,” Yates said via UAE Team Emirates.
Vine, also a new signing this season, has already claimed the team’s first World Tour victory of the season with the overall general classification at the 2023 Tour Down Under, ahead of Yates’ twin brother Simon.
Helping them on the key mountain top finishes to Jebel Jais (stage 3) and Jebel Hafeet (stage 7) will be McNulty, Mark Soler, Mikkel Bjerg and Vegard Stake Laengen, with Sebastian Molano their go-to sprinter for the four flat stages.
“Yates will make his debut with us and will take the role as leader, though as is our nature as a team we will have different options throughout the race as it unfolds,” sports manager Joxean Matxin Fernandez said.
Yates has performed consistently on the queen stage to Jebel Hafeet, having won atop the climb in 2020 and never finished outside the top three on stages finishing there.
With Pogačar not present to capture a hat-trick of UAE Tour victories, they will be hoping Yates can start his season in top form against the World Champion and favourite for the race, Remco Evenepoel. Other overall contenders include Sep Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) ands Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious).
Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan), Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe), Caleb Ewan (Lotto Dstny), Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) and Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-Alula) will fight for sprint victories.
Evenepoel and Pogačar were set to battle it out at the UAE Tour before the two-time race winner changed his schedule to start at the Clásica Jaén Paraíso Interior and Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista del Sol.
Pogačar won both of his first two race days with solo attacks from 36km out in Jaén and 12.5km out on stage 1 of the Ruta del Sol, making it three wins in as many days for UAE Team Emirates after Diego Ulissi won stage 4 of the Tour of Oman on Tuesday.
