The UAE Team Emirates manager talks about his career highlights, the multiple leaders at his disposal, and Tadej Pogačar’s chances of winning it all
Words Felix Lowe Photography Jeffrey Yingling/MyWhoosh
Cyclist: Let’s get right to it – can Tadej Pogačar do the Giro-Tour double?
Mauro Gianetti: It’s a big challenge but we believe it’s possible, otherwise we wouldn’t try. We expect a completely new level from Tadej and we will have the answer at the end of July. What he did last year after his crash was amazing – with just one month to train he was able to finish second in the Tour de France just because he’s Tadej Pogačar. No other rider could have done that.
Cyc: How important for cycling is your
rivalry with Visma-Lease a Bike?
MG: When our team was smaller, the challenge was to be as good as Sky. Now that’s changed it’s good for us, for the sport and for the public. There’s an amazing, unique atmosphere at races. Cycling today has fans for teams, which was probably never the case in the past. Last year we won the team classification and it was emotional. It remains an individual sport but everyone now understands how important teams are.
Cyc: Isaac del Toro’s stage win at the Tour Down Under was special. Is the Mexican the next Pogačar?
MG: He will be a future Isaac del Toro. He’s a great talent; passionate, dedicated. We’ve followed him for three years since he was riding mountain bikes. We see he’s got a good attitude – because to be a champion it’s not enough to have talent. You also need ambition and you need to work hard and be serious. Isaac does all this. He will be a very good rider for us. But we will not make any projections because it may hold him back. We must just let him enjoy the journey.
Cyc: Which other riders at UAE Team Emirates are you excited about?
MG: It gives me huge satisfaction to discover and launch talents. [Portugal’s] António Morgado and [Swiss teenager] Jan Christen are young neo-pros to look out for. I also think Pavel Sivakov and Nils Politt will give the team a stronger base.
Cyc: If Pogačar struggles at the Tour, could any other UAE riders step up?
MG: We have great strength in depth behind our leader because Adam Yates, Juan Ayuso and João Almeida will all be able to target the overall victory as well.
Cyc: Those riders – and Brandon McNulty – would be leaders elsewhere. How do you keep everyone happy?
MG: But they are already leaders in our team. We work hard to make a programme that gives each rider their own opportunities. For a rider who wants to be a leader it’s not enough to have this dream – they need a team. This is why everyone at the end of the day is happy to be in our team, because they know if they are leading, they have support. Last year, 18 of our riders won a race. Does any other team have so many different winners?
Cyc: Was beating the likes of Jalabert, Bartoli and Bugno to Liège-Bastogne-Liège glory in 1995 the highlight of your own career?
MG: My first win came in my second race as a professional – the GP Lugano in 1986 – which was pretty good. But winning Liège was a great victory. It was hard because it snowed and I had no feeling in my hands. I knew I couldn’t win in a sprint so I attacked 5km from the finish. Tactically I played a good game, but I was the perfect age. A week later I did the double at Amstel Gold, which was incredible.
Cyc: And you came third in Liège one year later…
MG: I was in a long breakaway with Pascal Richard and Lance Armstrong but they both beat me in the sprint That’s life. At that time Armstrong was concentrating on one-day races. His stage racing was progressing but I never thought he would win seven Tours!
Cyc: How disappointed were you to miss out on the rainbow jersey in Lugano in 1996?
MG: Finishing second in my hometown was special. To race in front of your public, with the responsibility to do well, was emotional. I used the pressure to drive me on. I didn’t make any mistakes; Johan Museeuw was simply stronger than me, so I have no regrets. Looking back, my biggest regret was never working with a mental coach. I was too modest and had a quasi-fear of winning.
Cyc: Who was the best rider you raced against?
MG: There were two: Bernard Hinault for his personality and power; Miguel Induráin for pure class.
Cyc: Do you prefer being in the saddle or pulling the strings?
MG: For me, no doubt, I’m enjoying what I’m doing now more than when I was a rider. I’m part of a project in the UAE to encourage an entire country to ride a bike. No one was riding when I arrived. To see 300,000 people on bikes is an emotion like winning the Tour with the team.
Cyc: Back to Pogačar. Could he win all three Grand Tours and all five Monuments?
MG: If there’s one rider who can do it, it’s Tadej. We know how he is on the pavé, so he could certainly win Paris-Roubaix. San Remo will be very complicated, but we saw how close he was this year. It’s possible. But remember he came very close to winning the Vuelta in his first year – as a 19-year-old he was on the podium with three stage wins.
Cyc: When did you first see his quality?
MG: It was when he won the Tour de l’Avenir [in 2018]. How he won it – alone, without a team – was a bit like Isaac del Toro last year. He was probably five or six kilos heavier than today, and there’s been a lot of progression since. That was when I realised this guy was amazing.
