Pogacar at Visma | Lease a Bike, Vingegaard at UAE... In this parallel universe, everything is reversed

Scientists take the idea of multiple universes very seriously. The universe is constantly expanding, creating infinite possibilities. There could be a world where war doesn’t exist and everyone lives in peace or a world where fire was never discovered, leaving humanity stuck in the prehistoric age. This also means there might be a world where the biggest cycling stars took entirely different paths than the ones we know. With the help of AI, these alternate realities can feel just a bit more real.

According to that theory, there is a world where Mathieu van der Poel never joined Alpecin-Deceuninck. In this alternate reality, he might have embarked on an international adventure, perhaps leaving cyclo-cross behind entirely to focus on road racing. At Lidl-Trek, he could have found the perfect opportunity to pursue this dream. Meanwhile, Alpecin-Deceuninck would have had a vacancy for a top leader, a spot Wout van Aert would have eagerly filled. In blue, Van Aert would dominate the classics and cyclo-cross, but perhaps the Tour de France wouldn’t be as high a priority. The Belgian might not have become the ultimate super domestique he is today in this dimension.

At Visma | Lease a Bike, they were on the hunt for a voracious winner—someone who could dominate every race. With Van Aert absent, they signed a young Slovenian named Tadej Pogacar. In this alternate reality, Pogacar didn’t choose UAE Team Emirates because they already had a Grand Tour specialist: Jonas Vingegaard. Meanwhile, Vingegaard faced stiff competition from Remco Evenepoel, who opted not to sign with Quick-Step, instead choosing an adventure with Movistar, which he saw as the best opportunity.

This begs the question: who would rule the peloton in this universe? Previously, AI was used to generate a Christmas party featuring various cycling legends, resulting in humorous and creative outcomes.