UAE Tour: Pogačar and the Giro, INEOS helmet banned Last Minute, and anonymous Visma | Lease a Bike "decapitated"

After losing Olav Kooij on stage one due to illness, the focus on stage two shifted to a 12.2-kilometer time trial. Joshua Tarling took the win, but his INEOS Grenadiers team had to make an unexpected equipment change. On Wednesday, Velo reported that the UCI had banned the visor of INEOS Grenadiers’ time trial helmet just 24 hours before the start of the UAE Tour time trial.

The helmet in question, which had been in use by INEOS for three years, was the Kask Aero Pro Visor. The UCI's materials commission ruled that the visor, which is magnetically attached to the helmet, could no longer be used. The race jury stated: "The UCI materials commission prohibits the use of Kask visors. Riders who do not have an alternative helmet for the time trial must start without a visor."

INEOS Grenadiers managed to modify their time trial helmets after the UCI’s ban, allowing Joshua Tarling to still compete and win the time trial on Tuesday. The British time trial champion was 13 seconds faster than Stefan Bissegger and 18 seconds ahead of Tadej Pogačar. "We found a good solution, also with the UCI commissioner who is here at the race. They worked greatly with us," said INEOS team boss Oli Cookson, making it clear he holds no grudges against the cycling federation.

"We always want to stay within the rules and not violate regulations, as that helps the sport progress. There’s a balance we try to find with our sponsors when it comes to our equipment," Cookson explained. However, he admitted that he was caught off guard when the UCI notified them just 24 hours before the time trial. "This is a sport where you need to adapt quickly. Fortunately, we have great people on our team, and we had the necessary options available. Kask took care of everything."

While INEOS Grenadiers secured the time trial win, and Jonathan Milan celebrated victory for Lidl-Trek on day one, it was Tadej Pogačar who claimed stage three on Jebel Jais for UAE Team Emirates-XRG. A notable absentee from this battle of the giants: Visma | Lease a Bike. The Dutch team suffered setbacks early in the race, with sprint leader Olav Kooij withdrawing due to illness on stage one and Julien Vermote abandoning on stage two. This left the team with just Niklas Behrens, Thomas Gloag, Bart Lemmen, Daniel McLay, and Tosh Van der Sande.

Lemmen was the team’s best finisher, placing 18th in the time trial and 30th on Jebel Jais, a quiet presence in the race. "We will do everything we can to keep Bart and Thomas in a good position," the team stated after the time trial. However, that didn’t work out on Jebel Jais. Gloag got dropped early, and Lemmen faded near the summit. "Looking back, I maybe expected a bit more," said Lemmen. "I was in a good position for a while, but in the final stretch, the pace really picked up. I lost the wheel in front of me, and once you lose the wheel on this climb, it’s gone for good."

According to Lemmen, Visma | Lease a Bike will now have to wait for the final stage for another shot at a strong result. "It wasn’t terrible, but I was just not strong enough to stay with the absolute best. In that sense, it was a very fair race. The final stage will be another chance to test the legs. Over the next three days, we’ll have to reassess our strategy. Losing Olav means we are missing our key sprinter, but of course, we won’t go down without a fight."

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Back to Tadej Pogačar, who now needs to survive a few flat stages before getting his next big opportunity on Jebel Hafeet on Sunday, where he can go for the overall victory in the UAE Tour. But with that still a few days away, L'Équipe turned to team boss Mauro Gianetti to discuss Pogačar’s plans beyond the Emirates. So, will Pogi race the Giro d’Italia in May or not? "No." The answer was crystal clear.

As for whether Pogi will race the Vuelta a España after the Tour de France, that decision will come later. “We will evaluate whether it will be the Tour and Vuelta or just the Tour. He could also do only the Tour de France, it depends on how the season starts,” Gianetti explained, referring to Pogačar’s packed spring classics campaign. Pogačar will kick off his classics season on March 8 at Strade Bianche, followed by Milano-Sanremo, E3 Saxo Bank Classic, Gent-Wevelgem, and the Tour of Flanders. After that, he will complete a full Ardennes campaign—and there’s even a chance that Paris-Roubaix could be added to his schedule…