Tadej Pogañar has confirmed that he has an incredibly strong team to take Jonas Vingegaard at the Tour de France, with Adam Yates, Juan Ayuso and João Almeida all likely to be team leaders for the 3-man and also rival team for Slovenia but he has not been in a historic position. I will ride in Poganyal on 7 May because it is targeted for the great Giro Tour double. 

UAE Team Emirates still need to confirm the final eight riders, but Poganyal will be Rei in Florence on 6/29 for the Grand Department Store

Marc Soler, Pavel Sivakov, Tim Wellens and Nils Politt are also included in the lineup, but will not be available for a personal time trial. Obviously there is no place for US Brandon McNulty, who is focused on the Olympics, or Rafaš Majka, who rode with Pogañar, who won the Giro d'Italia. 

UAE Team The Emirates Tour de France lineup is widely expected, but it stands out because of the strength of the team. They are likely to try to dominate the race, especially in the mountains.

"We have a full star team," Poganyar said while talking to Geraint Thomas and Luke Rowe during an episode of the Watts Occuring podcast. 

"Yates will be the man in my right hand. Then Ayuso and Almeida are super climbing domestics. That way, Soler and Sivakov will be larger climbers who can still do anything in the flat. Then Nils Pollitt and Tim Wellens. Majka is at home, I think he is quite sad about this.

Adam Yates crashed from the UAE tour and suffered a concussion, but raced the Giro d'Abruzzo and then the Tour de Romandi. In the 2023 Tour de France, he was ranked 3rd overall. Ayuso finished second after Vingar in Tirreno Adriatico, winning the Itzulia Basque country after a big crash took out Dane, Evenepoel and Roglić. 

"It's a hit team," Thomas said in awe.

"It is, it is." And it scares me, too," Poganyal joked.

Pogagnard headed to altitude at Isola2000 in the French Alps on Tuesday after a week of rest and recovery following the Giro d'Italia victory in Rome. He will stay at altitude for almost three weeks and train and conduct some final Tour de France reconnaissance rides with his teammates.

He admitted he was tempted to dye his hair pink after winning the Giro d'Italia, but after 3 weeks of intense racing he chose a quiet week at his home in Monaco with his fiancee Urcasigart.

The Slovenians dominated the Giro d'Italia, beating Dani Martinez (Bora・Hansgrohe) and Jormas in 10 minutes to win the 6th stage. Thomas admitted during the podcast that he was still tired, but Poganyar said his level of fatigue "could be 10 out of 6 or 7."

"It's good mentally, it's a bit destroyed physically, but it's a bit even," he said.

Pogañar and Thomas both expect Vingegaard to ride the Tour de France even though Visma-Lease has not yet confirmed his presence. The 2nd tour winner is expected to be part of the big-name battle of 4 riders on the tour with Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Primošroglić (Bora-Hansgrohe). Vingegaard has already trained at altitude in the French Alps, but Visma-Lease A Bike claims to ride the tour only if it is 100% ready.

"For me, yes, he will be the first," Poganyar said, repeating the comments he made during the giro.

"I think he was riding a bike soon after he left the hospital, so if he was comfortable already riding a bike, he could be in good shape.

"What most people are saying is that it depends on whether he can reach the weight of the race, but I don't think it's going to matter.

Thomas agreed.

"If he can put himself in training, I think he can still be really good."

Evenepoel and Roglić are recovering from crash injuries and Pogacsr expects them to fight for victory if they follow different racing strategies.

"The motivation of Remco and Roglić thugs is very high and I think there is a good reason to be over 100% this year," Pogañar said.

"It's nice to finally see Remco on tour. When he was a world champion, I told him "we need to tour," but he didn't do that.

"I think Lemco has the motivation to attack early on the tour. I think Primocci will just look at everyone and fly to the end of the day.

The Tour de France will be held in Florence, Italy, on Saturday 6/29 and will end on Sunday 7/21 and go to Nice in a hilly time trial.