Behind the scenes at the UAE Team Emirates makeshift service course

UAE Service Course
(Image credit: Will Jones)

Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to the winter training camp of UAE Team Emirates, ostensibly for the launch of the new Colnago V4Rs and to write a first ride review of it, having bombed around the hills behind the Costa Blanca being constantly overtaken by WorldTour pros. The team also put on a media day, where journalists could ask riders about their ambitions for the upcoming season, how they were settling in at the new team.

I decided not to stick around during the rider interviews, and instead, as the sun dipped below the horizon, I wandered up the road a few hundred metres to the entrance of an underground car park that the team had taken over to create a makeshift service course. Here I was lucky enough to shoot Pogačar's bike for the upcoming season, but while I was there I also took some snaps of the service course itself and chatted to Pogačar's mechanic, Boštjan Kavčnik, about the new team bikes, what they're like to work on, and who are the picky riders in the bunch.

Will Jones
Senior Tech Writer

Will joined the Cyclingnews team as a reviews writer in 2022, having previously written for Cyclist, BikeRadar and Advntr. He’s tried his hand at most cycling disciplines, from the standard mix of road, gravel, and mountain bike, to the more unusual like bike polo and tracklocross. He’s made his own bike frames, covered tech news from the biggest races on the planet, and published countless premium galleries thanks to his excellent photographic eye. Also, given he doesn’t ever ride indoors he’s become a real expert on foul-weather riding gear. His collection of bikes is a real smorgasbord, with everything from vintage-style steel tourers through to superlight flat bar hill climb machines.