UAE Team Emirates general manager, Carlo Saronni, has told Cyclingnews that his vastly improved squad will fight on a number of fronts next year, and that Fabio Aru and Daniel Martin will aim for Grand Tour podium spots at the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana.
Saronni also looked to calm the tension with Astana's manager, Alexander Vinokourov, saying that UAE's contract with Aru was fair and above board. Vinokourov had claimed that Astana will seek damages after Aru decided to depart the team at the end of this season, leaving the Kazakh team short of a Grand Tour leader.
UAE Team Emirates has been one of the busiest teams in the transfer market. They signed Martin from Quick-Step Floors, Aru from Astana and Alexander Kristoff from Katusha. Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Merida), Louis Meintjes (Dimension Data), Andrea Guardini (Bardiani-CSF), and Marko Kump (CCC Sprandi Polkowice) have all departed but Saronni – thanks to increased investment from the team's sponsors – strengthened the team in almost every department.
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"Next season we'll have three great captains in Aru, Martin and Kristoff. We'll also have Rui Costa and Diego Ulissi but to be the best team in the world we need time, maybe another season or two," Saronni told Cyclingnews.
"We don't want to stand still and we're following other riders for the future. Next year we want to be a top-10 team, and then the year after we can look towards the top five, top three, and then in 2020 we want to be a very top team that has won a Tour de France or another Grand Tour."
Grand Tour plans
Next year's Grand Tour plans revolve around Martin and Aru. Both riders signed multiple year contracts with the team, and the likely Grand Tour scenario will involve Aru targeting the Giro d'Italia, with Martin looking to improve on his sixth place finish at the Tour de France. In 2017, Aru skipped the Giro d'Italia due to injury but bounced back to win a stage, wear yellow, and finish fifth overall in Paris.
No reason for Aru contract conflict
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