It is Grand Tour time in the cycling season as focus shifts to the daunting three-week challenge that is the Giro d'Italia.
UAE Team Emirates-XGR head into Friday's opening stage in Bulgaria, where the first three days are being held, on a high after Tadej Pogacar's dominating performance at the Tour de Romandie last week.
There will be no Pogacar – or Isaac del Toro, who finished agonisingly close to winning last year's race – lining up on the starting line in Nessabar. Joao Almeida is also absent due to a virus that has disrupted his plans in recent months.
“Not having Joao Almeida will change our strategy slightly, but we still have big ambitions and still want to go for results,” said Adam Yates, who will lead a team that includes Jay Vine, Jan Christen, Marc Soler, Antonio Morgado, Igor Arrieta and Mikkel Bjerg.
“Personally, I feel like the shape is good and if things go our way, we can have a good crack at the GC [general classification].”
Pogacar and Del Toro are prioritising the Tour de France which will see the Mexican rider make his debut alongside the four-time champion from Slovenia. And preparations are already well under way with the pair spotted on a Tour Stage 14 recon at Grand Ballon this week, for a race which begins on July 4 in Barcelona.
But before then, all eyes turn to the Giro which will see Yates and Vine leading the Emirati team's charge over a brutal Corsa Rosa course.
Yates, 33, made his Giro race bow back in 2017 and will be looking to maintain the team's impressive record in recent years, with Almeida finishing third in 2023, Pogacar winning on his debut 12 months later, before Del Torro's second place on the podium last year.
Last month, Yates secured overall victory at O Gran Camino, finishing 32 seconds ahead of Jorgen Nordhagen (Team Visma-Lease a Bike), and believes he is in good place as the English rider looks to add a Giro stage win to his victories on the Tour and Vuelta a Espana.
“I’m pretty happy with how my preparation for the Giro has gone,” added Yates, whose brother Simon toppled Del Torro to win last year before his shock retirement from cycling in January.
“The win in O Gran Camino was a good tester and I’ve had a solid block with the team in Sierra Nevada, so I think as a group we’re ready.”
Alongside Yates at the Giro will be Australian rider Vine who enjoyed an unforgettable victory on his home Tour Down Under in January, which saw him triumph despite being knocked off his bike after an unfortunate collision with a kangaroo which would leave him with a broken wrist.
The 30-year-old is returning to full fitness after a difficult period – which also included a crash at the Volta a Catalunya in March – and looking to build upon a promising start to the season.
But when asked if he had ambitions to challenge for the overall Giro title, Vine gave a blunt response. “I don't think that's something that I'll be doing at this race,” he told Cycling News at the team presentation in Burgas on Wednesday.
“[Almeida dropping out] hasn't really changed my role. It's disappointing not having Joao here because I think he had a good chance to do a good race, but it's more opportunities for the team. I don't think it's going to change our plans much; we'll see what happens.”
Despite Vine being an Australian national time-trial champion, he surprisingly has yet to win at a Grand Tour – or even WorldTour level – in that format. And his big target in Italy is clear.
“I'm really looking forward to the TT on stage 10, 42km, dead flat,” he added. “I've worked really hard on it, on the position as well with the Australian team in the summer, and we've tried a few things.”
Going up against Yates and Co at the Giro will be reigning Vuelta champion and two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard, who is looking in ominous form following victories at Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya.
If the Dane tops of the podium in Rome on May 31, it means Vingegaard, 29, will become only the eighth rider to win all three Grand Tours after Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and Chris Froome.
“Taking on this challenge, which is new to me, is exactly what I needed. I can't wait to get started; my goal is to win the Giro d'Italia in Rome,” the Visma-Lease a Bike rider told Gazzetta dello Sport. “For several years, my competitive schedule has been very similar. I felt the need for a change.
“The Giro is a major goal, and I’m convinced that these few weeks will help me reach peak form for the Tour as well. But right now, my focus is solely on the Giro.”
One name absent from that list of greats is Pogacar who has yet to taste victory in the Vuelta, one of the few races he has still to tick off his win list.
“Achieving this hat-trick is a goal for me, and that’s it. It means making history,” Vingegaard added. “He’ll get there too; it’s just a matter of time. Tadej is perhaps the best ever. But I’ve already beaten him and I’m confident I can do it again.”
