UAE short on options for Ardennes - 'We had four leaders, and we’ve lost three'

Team manager Joxean Fernández Matxin offered a candid assessment after the Itzulia Basque Country. “We had four leaders for the Ardennes, and we’ve lost three,” he said to Bici.pro.

The first setbacks came at the Tour Down Under, where a cluster of crashes disrupted the team’s early momentum. Jhonatan Narváez suffered multiple vertebra fractures, Vegard Stake Laengen was ruled out for an extended period, while Mikkel Bjerg and Jay Vine also went down in the famous 'Kangeroo incident'. 

There was little respite during the Classics. Tim Wellens broke his collarbone at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, effectively ending his spring campaign, while Jan Christen crashed out of Milan-Sanremo. Meanwhile, illness disrupted João Almeida’s preparations for the Giro d'Italia, and Brandon McNulty also spent time on the sidelines. The accumulation of setbacks forced UAE to adjust its programme, including withdrawing from Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali, an unusual step for a team that typically spreads its strength across the calendar.

The Ardennes block had been mapped out as a key objective, built around multiple leaders, but that plan has since unravelled. Isaac Del Toro, initially set to lead at the Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne, abandoned Itzulia after a crash and will not start, while Jan Christen and Jhonatan Narváez have yet to return to racing.

“In total, we have 14 riders who are not at their best or are out,” Matxin said. The ability to dictate races through numbers and to adapt to different scenarios, is now sharply reduced.

The burden will once again fall on Tadej Pogačar. He is set to skip both the Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne before targeting Liège-Bastogne-Liège, where he will aim to close his spring campaign with a statement performance following his defeat to Wout van Aert at Paris-Roubaix. However, he is expected to face strong competition from Remco Evenepoel and the young French prodigy Paul Seixas.