Their back tyre is still on the roads of the 2017 season, but UAE Team Emirates insist their front one is very much sprinting towards the 2018 campaign.

A team meeting was held in Lugano this week where team officials started laying the foundations for next year and beginning all the preparatory work that goes into it.

During the team meeting, announcements were made regarding the technical staff, which will call on members from four different countries to lead UAE Team Emirates next season. Italian Paolo Tiralongo comes on board as assistant sports director.

He will be joined by compatriots Marco Marzano, Daniele Righi, Mario Scirea and Bruno Vicino, with Joxean Matxin (Spain), Philippe Mauduit (France) and Simone Pedrazzini (Switzerland) completing the management team.

The new UAE Team Emirates riders’ roster for 2018 has already been shaken up with the acquisition of Italy’s Fabio Aru, the 2015 Vuelta a Espana champion from Astana, as well as Ireland’s Daniel Martin from Quick-Step, who has stage wins at the Tour de France and the Vuelta, in addition to twotime Tour de France stage winner Alexander Kristoff.

Team manager Carlo Sarroni said: “After our first year, during which we showcased the skills of the riders who were already in our roster, we tried to sign top riders for next season who could compete for top results in the major Tours.

“The most important feedback from 2017 is that the team was competitive throughout the season and that our riders demonstrated their passion in every race. “We all learnt that we are representing a nation, the UAE, and this means that we have a responsibility every time we are wearing the team’s colours. It gives us extra motivation. A victory in a major Tour is the goal we are aiming for.”