Cycling Stories: UAE Team Emirates’ young riders in Portugal

Histórias do Ciclismo: Jovens da UAE Team Emirates em Portugal – Versão Portuguesa

UAE Team Emirates is in Portugal! Although the riders are under-23 and the team identifies as Gen Z, they have the same bikes, kits, accessories, and supporting structure as the ‘adults.’ They plan everything, they take every detail into account, they leave everything on the road, and most importantly, they win. That’s what happened at the Troféu Internacional da Arrábida, and that’s what is happening at the Volta ao Alentejo.

When they stepped onto the podium of the classic as team classification winners, those young and joyful faces impressed everyone, considering their strength and experience of champions. “Take pictures of these riders now because in 2 or 3 years, they will be among the best in the world,” said the announcer. So, let’s meet some of the future stars of world cycling, as well as their sports director.

Jan Polanc, director

Jan Polanc was there for Tadej Pogacar’s first victory at the Tour de France, which was also the only unexpected one. In 2020, he was part of his compatriot’s mountain train, setting a high pace on climbs like Grand Colombier and Col de la Madeleine to help him challenge Primoz Roglic. Everything changed from there…

Five years later, the team now relies on João Almeida, Adam Yates, and Juan Ayuso for the same task.“It was a great evolution. The good thing is that the team learned every year, we improved after each season. Now, all the small details have come together. It is very important in modern cycling to look into everything. Other teams do it, we do it as well, and we are the best team,” said Polanc.

The Slovenian rider, meanwhile, has swapped his bike’s handlebars for the support car’s steering wheel, only taking his hand off to grab the radio. “It’s a good experience. It’s nice to work with the young riders and, at the same time, still be part of UAE Team Emirates,” he told us in Sesimbra.

Even though the team present in Portugal identifies as Gen Z, it is still UAE Team Emirates, the most successful team in the World Tour. “We always have to win, but it’s more about the progress of the young riders. Our job is to help them grow so that they can reach the World Tour team.”

The truth is, in Arrábida, the young riders pushed hard: first, they took advantage of the wind to break up the peloton, and then they went into a breakaway and ended up celebrating victory in Setúbal with Luca Giaimi. They have also won in Alentejo with Davide Stella. “The goal is to get good results, maybe try to win a stage. Then, we’ll see day by day how the race and the young riders progress,” Polanc said just hours before the first triumph.

Adrià Pericas, attacker

At the 2023 World Championships, when Mathieu Van Der Poel was doing the reckon of the Glasgow circuit, which he would later win, something unusual happened: a 17-year-old Spanish rider managed to stay on his wheel for a long period, even when the Dutch star attacked. That young rider is Adrià Pericas.

Pericas started cycling “when I was nine years old, partly because of my family, since they are all cyclists.” Matxin had followed his career from an early stage, until “he made me an offer to join the team, and I’m very happy with this opportunity.”

With a small stature, a hunched posture, and a slightly tilted head, it’s impossible to look at Pericas and not immediately recognize an attacking rider. He confirms: “I love attacking cycling, and I love riders who attack. Like everyone, I admire the way Tadej Pogacar races and his personality.”

Everything has happened quickly in the young Spaniard’s life, and he has already had the chance to meet his idol: “We were at a training camp for some time, and from the little I managed to speak to him, he seemed like a really nice person. I’m very happy to be in the same team as him.”

Overall, Pericas has been making the most of his opportunity with UAE Team Emirates Gen Z. This season, he has already raced in Saudi Arabia and Spain, where he achieved a top-10 with the main squad, and he came close to that result at the Troféu Internacional da Arrábida. “Right now, I feel really good. I won in Croatia, and now in Portugal, I want to do my best. We have a very strong team, and we will try to give our best.”

Matthias Schwarzbacher, ‘classicomano’

What if we told you that there’s a Slovakian rider who transitioned from cyclocross to road cycling, is always relaxed, and has an excellent sprint? No, it’s not who we’re thinking. But only a DNA test could end all doubt that Matthias Schwarzbacher is not a relative of Peter Sagan.

“My first race was his race in Slovakia,” recalled the young rider. Other than that, he doesn’t remember why he got into cycling: “I used to do biathlon, and then, somehow, I started cycling. I did more and more races until I focused only on cycling.”

However, he knows that combining cross-country skiing with shooting wasn’t for him. “I never shot well, but sometimes, in the winter, I still go skiing,” Schwarzbacher admitted with a laugh. His sharpest shots have come in cycling, particularly with his move from ATT Investments to UAE Team Emirates Gen Z.

“It’s a huge opportunity. Things have changed a lot compared to last year, in the conditions. That’s why I’m very happy here and with the fact that I sometimes get to race with the World Tour riders and learn from them,” said the Slovakian cyclist.

But Schwarzbacher doesn’t just learn from the biggest names in cycling. He also learns from those who improve daily, such as Lukas Kubis, the sprinter from Unibet Tietema Rockets: “It’s really impressive how he evolved from a continental team to the elite category, and now he’s competing against Van Aert and all the other World Tour riders.”

Schwarzbacher has also been performing well. In Portugal, he finished 10th in the Troféu Internacional da Arrábida and 3rd in the first stage of Volta ao Alentejo. On the road to Setúbal, the assurance of his sprint allowed the team to make its move with the eventual winner. But like Giaimi and Pericas, he has already raised his arms in victory this year.

Unlike them, perhaps because he comes from a country with less cycling tradition, his expectations were lower: “I’m very surprised. I didn’t expect to be this strong. I have a victory and some really good work for the World Tour team. So, I’m looking to do well again this week.”