Aside from Egan Bernal's Tour de France win, the standout young GC performer of 2019 was Tadej Pogacar, who, at just 20 years old, finished third at the Vuelta a España and took three stage wins.

The young Slovenian was consistently strong throughout his debut World Tour campaign, winning the Tour of California and the Volta ao Algarve, but despite proving impressive this season, the UAE Team Emirates management reluctant to put much pressure on his shoulders.

The team's GC ambitions are centered around Pogacar and Italian rider Fabio Aru.

When asked if Pogacar would be the team's star during the three weeks of racing, team director Alan Piper was cautious.

"You could say that based on his results this year, including the Vuelta, California, and Algarve, but at the same time he is still very young, so putting the pressure of leading the entire team on his shoulders is something to consider," Piper told Cycling News.

"For us, Fabio Aru needs to take responsibility. He had an unlucky season, especially this season, but he and Pogacar are the best candidates for GC. Aru has the best chance, because of his background and because Pogacar has already had a lot of runs."

One scenario could be that Aru targets the Giro d'Italia while Pogacar concentrates on a possible Tour de France debut. That in itself would be a big step for Pogacar, who was on the Continental team last year despite winning the Tour de Lavenir until this 2019 begins and despite winning the Tour de Lavenir in 2018.

"It is possible that Pogacar will compete in the Tour and Aru in the Giro, but at this point it is still up in the air what will happen to Pogacar. He is still young, and with three stage wins and a third place finish in the Vuelta, it may be too early to go off the deep end. He is still young, with three stage wins and a third-place finish at the Vuelta, but it may be too soon to suddenly go off the deep end.

In a more general sense, UAE Team Emirates is strengthened in virtually every department. In addition to signing Davide de la Cruz and Davide Formolo to bolster its stage race core, Mikkel Bjarg and Brandon McNulty were two of the hottest names on the U23 market this season. The team also added highly regarded Alessandro Covi and Andres Camilo Ardila. In addition, sprinter Fernando Gaviria will bolster the lead-out train with the addition of Max Richeze, who supported the Colombian rider during the Quick Step era.

"The rider lineup has taken a step forward, especially with regard to the support of Pogacar and Aru. The roster has taken a step forward, especially with regard to supporting Pogacar and Aru. As far as the stage races are concerned, we have given ourselves depth, but at the same time we have great young talent," Piper said.

"With the addition of young Berg and McNulty, we have strengthened our time trial unit as well as our climbers.

With Gaviria and Alexander Kristoff leading the line in the Spring Classic, the team enjoyed its best season to date with 29 wins in 2019, but Piper hopes the team will improve even more next season. According to him, that means at least matching this year's win total.

"For me, and with the roster we have, 30 wins would be the minimum. Players like Gaviria have won almost 20 games by themselves in the past. Yasper Philipsen has 33 top-10 finishes in 65 races. He has one win, but if we translate that to his second season, it could be anywhere from five to ten wins. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Next year, 30 wins should be the minimum, and 40 wins is the target."