With Tadei Pogachar opting not to defend his 2022 title, UAE Team Emirates chose Adam Yates as team leader and Brandon McNulty and Jay Vine as the other options in the overall class.

Yates won the 2020 UAE Tour with Mitchelton-Scott, ahead of Pogachar, and has finished second behind the Slovenian in the last two races. He signed a three-year contract with Ineos Grenadiers last September and has recently been training at high altitude and will make his debut in his first race with the team in the 2023 season.

"I'm really excited and motivated to finally start racing with the team, the UAE Tour is a really good race and it has always been a good place for me," Yates said through UAE Team Emirates.

Bain, another newcomer this season, has already earned the team's first WorldTour victory of the season, taking the overall win at the 2023 Tour Down Under ahead of Yates' twin brother Simon.

McNulty, Mark Soler, Mikkel Bjerg, and Vegard Stake Laengen supported them in the crucial mountain finishes of Jebel Jais (stage 3) and Jebel Hafeet (stage 7), while four flat stages Sebastian Molano will be their reliable sprinter.

"Yates will make his debut with us and take on the role of leader, but due to the nature of our team, we have a variety of options depending on how the race unfolds," said sport manager Jocsen Maxine Fernandez.

Yates has been consistent on the queen stage to Jebel Hafeet, a stage he won in 2020.

With Pogachar away on a hat-trick of UAE Tour races, they hope Yates can start the season in top form against world champion and favorite to win this race, Remco Evenpoel. Other candidates for the overall win include Sepp Kuss (Jumbo Visma) and Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious).

Mark Cavendish (Astana Kazakstan), Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe), Caleb Yuan (Lotto Doustini), Fernando Gaviria (Movistar), and Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco Arla) will all be contend for the sprint victory.

Evenepoel and Pogachar were scheduled to compete in the UAE Tour, but the two-time winner changed his schedule to compete in the Clásica Jaen Paraiso Interior and the Vuelta a Andalucía Lucicrista del Sol.

Pogachar won both of the first two days with solo attacks from the 36km mark in Jaen and the 12.5km mark of the first stage of the Ruta del Sol, making it three consecutive days of victory for UAE Team Emirates after Diego Ulissi won stage 4 of the Tour of Oman on Tuesday. It was the third consecutive victory for UAE Team Emirates after Diego Ulissi won the fourth stage of the Tour of Oman on Tuesday.