Tuesday 1 September 2020

Tour de France 2020 - part 1 - UAE


UAE Team Emirates won with Alexander Kristoff (Oslo, 5 July 1987) the first stage in this Tour de France. Alexander rides for UAE since 2018.

UAE is a World Tour Team sponsored by a sheik from the Emirates. The team is the continuation of the former Italian team Lampre. They took over in 2017 with and scored 16 wins in their first season.                 The most important win that year came from Diego Ulissi, winning the Grand Prix Montreal.                         Jan Polanc (1 stage win in the Giro) and Matej Mohoric (1 stage win in Vuelta) were top results too.                They also won two national road titles with Jan Polanc (Slovenia) and Yousif Mirza (United Arab Emirates). Top scorer of the team that year was Sacha Modolo with four wins of the sixteen team victories.

 

In 2018, the first year Alexander Kristoff signed with the team, he became also the most succesfull rider of the team with five wins. He and Daniel Martin won also a stage in the Tour.                                                      Vegard Stake Laengen won the Norwegian road title. All togheter the team won ten races. Of course they lost their previous year most winner Modolo to E.F.-Drapac.


2019 was the first very successful year. They signed a few big guns for that year. With Pogacar, Philipsen, Oliveira and Gaviria they certainly upgraded the team. The end result of 35 wins says enough. Alexander Kristoff won Gent-Wevelgem, 3 stages in the Vuelta and Youth GC for Pagacar and a stage in the Giro of Gaviria were for sure the highlights. Pogacar and Mirza won the national titles of their country (Slovenia and UAE). Most wins that year Pogacar (12), Kristoff (8) and Gaviria (6).                                                            


And then came the Covid-19 cycling season. With thirty riders they were looking at a successful year again with noone of the top riders leaving and some young additions. With twenty five wins on the teller so far, I guess they can not complain. Two national road titles by Bystrom (Norway) and Rui Costa (Portugal) and two TT titles, Ivo Oliveira (Portugal) and Pogacar (Slovenia). They won stages in the Tour of San Juan, Valencia, Colombia and of course the cherry on the cake the first stage and yellow jersey for a day in the Tour that just started. So far this season, again Pogacar has most wins (8).


The 2020 roster

ARDILA ORDONEZ Andres Camillo (COL Mariquita - 2/6/99)                                                                     ARU Fabio (ITA San Gavino Monreale - 3/7/90)                                                                                      BJERG Mikkel (DEN Kobenhavn - 3/11/98)                                                                                                BOHLI Tom (SWI Uznach - 17/1/94)                                                                                                  BYSTROM Sven Erik (NOR Haugesund - 21/1/92)                                                                                         CONTI Valerio (ITA Roma - 30/3/93)                                                                                                               COVI Alessandro (ITA Borgomanero - 28/9/98)                                                                                                 DE LA CRUZ MELGAREJO David (ESP Sabadell - 6/5/89)                                                              DOMBROWSKI Joe (USA Christiana - 12/5/91)                                                                                                 FARIA DA COSTA Rui Alberto (POR Povoa de Varzim - 5/10/86)                                                                       FORMOLO Davide (ITA Negrar - 25/10/92)                                                                                                     GAVIRIA RENDON Fernando (COL La Ceja - 19/8/94)                                                                                     HENAO MONTOYA Sergio Luis (COL Rionegro - 5/8/93)                                                                           KRISTOFF Alexander (NOR Oslo - 5/7/87)                                                                                                        LAENGEN Vegard Stake (NOR Oslo - 7/2/89)                                                                                            MARCATO Marco (ITA San Dona di Piave - 11/2/84)                                                                                       MC NULTY Brandon (USA Phoenix - 2/4/98)                                                                                                       MIRZA AL HAMMADI Yousif Mohamed Ahmed (UAE Khorfakkan - 8/10/98)                                            MOLANO BENAVIDES Juan Sébastian (COL Paipa - 4/11/94)                                                                 MUNOZ LANCHEROS Cristian Camilo (COL Ventaquemada - 20/3/96)                                                        OLIVEIRA ALVES Ivo Emanuel (POR Vila Nova de Gaia - 5/9/96)                                                                     OLIVEIRA ALVES Rui Filipe (POR Vila Nova de Gaia - 5/9/96)                                                                     PHILIPSEN Jasper (BEL Mol - 2/3/98)                                                                                                             POGACAR Tadej (SLO Komenda - 21/9/98)                                                                                                       POLANC Jan (SLO Kranj - 6/10/92)                                                                                                                     RAVASI Edward (ITA - Varese 5/6/94)                                                                                                  RIABUSHENKO Alexandr (BLR Minsk- 12/10/95)                                                                                            RICHEZE ARAQUISTAIN Ariel Maximiliano (ARG Bella Vista - 7/3/83)                                                      TROIA Oliviero (ITA Bordighera - 1/9/94)                                                                                                    ULISSI Diego (ITA Cecina - 15/7/89)