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Men’s World Tour Teams They face three very different tickets to get through the 2023 calendar.
The gap between the Grand Tour’s teams has widened as the revolving doors of the season’s transfer market saw the men’s propeloton’s two powerhouses decisively separated from the chasing pack.
United Arab Emirates and Jumbo-Visma have tried to flex their financial muscle with the low-budget “haves” of the first stage, the two recent Tour de France winning teams such as Fast Stage, Bora-Hansgrohe and the like. Even the rebooting power of Ineos Grenadiers.
Also Read:
What does the rest of the summer transfer window mean for the upcoming Grand Tour season and the interest of the world’s leading teams?
First Class: Supersquads
United Arab Emirates, Jumbo-Visma
The United Arab Emirates saw Adam Yates and Tim Wellens join Tadej Pogachar, Juan Ayoso and Joao Almeida in the summer. Jumbo-Visma has landed Wilco Kelderman and Dylan van Baarl as the headliners to saddle up with Jonas Wingegaard, Primoz Roglich and Steven Kruiswijk.
This season’s influx of top talent means the peloton’s two superpowers have been so good that either of them could sweep three weeks of the season.
From the icy climbs and time trials of the Giro d’Italia to the sun and steep stages of the Vuelta a España, they’ve got team captains, backbenchers and crew experts to crush the GC calendar.
Don’t be surprised if Roglich, Vingegaard and “AN ELSE” win the Giro, Tour and Vuelta respectively for the Jumbo-Visma this season. Almeida, Pogachar and perhaps Ayuso could likewise take the treble for their Emirates side. And with any high-profile grand tour prize comes the opportunity to sign even more high-profile names in the future.
An autonomous system? Hopefully that’s not the case.
Business class: one-man bands, stage-chasers
Soudal Quick Action, Ineos Grenadiers, Bora Hansgrohe, Movistar, EF Learning-Easy Post, Grumama-FDJ, Jayco-Alula, Bahrain Winner, Ag2r-Citroën, DSM
The second Grand Tour stage of the World Tour features GC championships, consistent podium finishes and teams boasting up-and-coming talent. But unlike the likes of UAE and Jumbo-Visma, neither boasts the numerous options and in-house depth needed to break into the peloton’s big leagues.
This summer has seen Yates jump from Ineos Grenadiers to the United Arab Emirates, and Kelderman leave Bora-Hansgrohe for Jumbo-Visma – two signs that all riders want to be in by 2023.
And with Egan Bernal unconfirmed after his horrific accident, Bora-Hansgrohe and Ineos Grenadier have lost places in 2023 with Jay Hindley and Geraint Thomas as the only strong core of their teams’ qualification aspirations.
Riders like Thomas, Hindley, Remko Evenpoel, Richard Carapaz, Enrique Mas and Simon Yates can go bar-to-bar in Pogachar or Vingegard on their best days. But without the same team depth, Hindley, Thomas, Evenepoel inter alia They may face off against the two super team as they fight alone on the top of the mountain as they fend off several knights.
And outside of one or maybe two “A” three-week picks, the grand tourer’s second tier remains a spectator in a three-week tournament that will shape the current narrative and future bank balances.
Economy-class: level-hunters, separatist-disruptors
Alpecin Deseunnc, Astana Kazakhstan, Kofidis, Intermarch-Circus-Wanty, Arkea Samsic, Trek-Segafredo
And the third Grand Tour stage on the WorldTour? Specialist racing teams, breakaway sprinters and squads have suddenly cut distance from team captains.
The controversial exits of Nairo Quintana and Miguel Angel Lopez from Archea-Samsic and Astana Kazakhstan respectively will reshape their squads. Short of the marquee runners, the sudden loss of the GC leaders leaves Arkea and Astana out of the midfield and in the race for the podium wins and air time to the break.
Elsewhere in Cat.3, riders like Guillaume Martin, Giulio Ciccone and Louis Meintjes are good bets for grand tour top-10s. But their teams don’t count on those lower levels to keep their sponsors cash-strapped, and instead pin their hopes on placing fan logos in the frame of the stage-winner.
None of the third-tier teams have been able to make a big splash in the transfer market this summer, instead turning to untested young talent for the new year. Meanwhile, the Tour de France’s top rivals have poured resources into their already rich rosters.
And with those ever-expanding odds, life in the lower leagues could be even tougher in 2023.
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