Quite what Australian Jay Vine thought of his team leader tipping him to be a potential winner of the Tour of the UAE before the final stage is anyone's guess. Because as Vine must know better than anyone, nobody beats the great Tadej Pogacar these days when cycling's modern master puts his mind to it. Just as he ended his record-shattering 2024 season with an imperious solo win at the Tour of Lombardy, Pogacar began his 2025 campaign by once again riding away majestically from the field up the Jebel Hafeet climb to win Sunday's final stage by more than half a minute. As he blasted off into his usual world of his own with 7.8km to go to leave his pursuers floundering, the world, Giro d'Italia and Tour de France champ Pogacar ended up winning the week-long race by a minute and 14 seconds from Italian Giulio Ciccone. It was a supreme display in his UAE Team Emirates' outfit's home race, but there was disappointment for Vine, who had been tipped for great things after the penultimate stage by Pogacar, for whom the Aussie had been acting impressively as a domestique over the week. "If not me, then maybe Jay Vine can do it," the Slovenian had suggested. "We have two cards to play tomorrow - Jay is close on GC, his climbing shape is also super good, and he's super strong, so we'll see. Let's hope for good legs first." It must be the ultimate compliment these days when Pogacar calls you "super strong" and a possible race winner against him, but, alas for the 29-year-old Queenslander, Vine missed the boat on Sunday when a large group broke away in the crosswinds and he wasn't among them. It meant Vine's hopes were already dashed going into the final climb, and nor could he help his team leader up ahead. Not that Pogacar really needed any. Once his last teammate in the mountains, Rune Herregodts, ran out of steam on the lower slopes with just under 8km left, the Slovenian kicked off unstoppably for home, a 91st career success and a third UAE Tour title. "I didn't want to be surprised by a counter-attack or anything. It was better to go at my own pace. It was a good day," Pogacar said in his usual matter-of-fact way. He said he wouldn't compete in another stage race until the Criterium du Dauphine in France in June, adding: "I will switch my mind to one-day classics and I hope to do well there also." A big aim is winning Milan-Sanremo for the first time, while he aims also at the Tour of Flanders and Liege-Bastogne-Liege "Monuments''. He won't defend his Giro title and will focus on the Tour de France. So, in France, another battle royal is promised between him and two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard, who also won his first stage race of the year at the Tour of the Algarve on Sunday after prevailing in the final-day time trial.