UAE Tour is first main goal, says Mauro Gianetti

After exceeding expectations by winning the Tour de France last year, UAE Team Emirates CEO Mauro Gianetti said that the team will be looking to maintain the high level as they tackle their ‘home’ race — the UAE Tour.

The UAE Tour will open the cycling season with the first UCI World Tour race taking place from February 21 to 27.

“We have come out from an incredible season so we know the expectations are also high but we have a good team roster and I think we will be at the level of expectations this season,” Gianetti said in a virtual interaction on Monday.

“All the best riders in the world participate in the UAE Tour. For us, it is a very important race. We know we represent the country in the country so, for us, it is the first main goal of the season,” he added.

The Swiss said that the team will look to replicate the success of last year.

“We reached the result to be among the top three teams in the world and winning the Tour de France two or three years in advance to our plan is nice. We are still working to improve, increase the level of the team,” he said.

“It is always complicated to replicate the same as last year. Of course, we will be at the Tour de France with the No.1. We will look to win the Tour de France once again and also try to maintain our position as one of the top three best teams in the world.

"This is the main focus but also, we want to discover all the young talent in the team and we also want to be more competitive in all the races. It is part of our progression. To maintain the level of last year will be a great result for us,” the former rider added.

james@khaleejtimes.com