Ayuso: Pogacar is my reference, I want to follow his footsteps

ESCHSURSRE LUXEMBOURG SEPTEMBER 15 Juan Ayuso Pesquera of Spain and UAE Team Emirates competes during the 81st SkodaTour De Luxembourg 2021 Stage 2 a 1861km stage from Steinfort to EschSurSre Eschdorf 504m skodatour skodatour on September 15 2021 in EschSurSre Luxembourg Photo by Bas CzerwinskiGetty Images
Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) at the Tour de Luxembourg (Image credit: Bas Czerwinski/Getty Images)

UAE Team Emirates' 2021 season may have been dominated by Tadej Pogačar's big wins ­– from Tirreno-Adriatico and Liège-Bastogne-Liège to the Tour de France and Il Lombardia – but the team still has an eye on the future and have signed some of the best riders of the next generation. 

At 23 years of age, Pogačar is still a youngster himself, but around the WorldTour the competition to find the new version of Eddy Merckx, Tom Boonen, or Alberto Contador intensifies every year. 

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