FERNANDO GA VI R IA

UAE EMIRATES

The injuries and glandular fever have really put him back. The big question mark is if he can come back to 100 per cent again. On his side he’s young - he’s still only 25. He has time and has been racing again but hasn’t looked like the Gaviria of the Quick Step years since he’s gone to UAE. He’s done a couple of good things there, but never really got into full stride. If he can get back to that level he’d be one of the top four.

Like Caleb, Gaviria’s got a big sprint engine. He can pull off really long sprints at really high speeds. He gets up to speed really quickly. He’s got great explosive power when he accelerates and he can maintain that for a good 300 or even 350 metres – he has a really good, long sprint. He’s consistent as well. Some guys, like I used to, accelerate really fast and get up to high speed, hold it for a bit and you just tail off. But he’s more like an endurance sprinter.

At UAE the focus might be on Pogacar now, so it’ll be harder for a guy like Gaviria to have the support or team leadership unless he can come back and show he’s back to his old self.

But Alexander Kristoff and Gaviria are a really good tandem. When they are both fit and going well, Kristoff leading out Gaviria is what should happen in the flat, fast sprints, and then Kristoff can take on the tougher days and classics. But it’s been a hard situation. The management has to draw the lines clearly well before the race and say, ‘This is what we’re doing, this is who is being ridden for today.’ Getting both of them to invest in that scenario of us being a team, not a bunch of individuals. UAE sometimes looks like a team of champions rather than a champion team.

Gaviria’s got a big sprint engine. He can pull off really long sprints at really high speeds. He gets up to speed really quickly