Tadej Pogačar may still be firmly in control of the Tour de France, but the yellow jersey admitted his UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad is far from full strength heading into the race’s final mountain tests.
Stage 18 recap
Stage 18 passed without any major attacks among the overall contenders, but it wasn’t an easy day for the race leader. American teammate Brandon McNulty was forced to abandon after falling ill, leaving Pogačar with one fewer key domestique for the closing stages. EF Education First’s Richard Carapaz took a lovely solo win.
“It was a relatively calm day for me, but we lost Brandon as a team,” Pogačar said after the finish in a post-race interview. “He got sick, and I hope he’s okay again for the celebrations in Paris.”
The sitch at UAE
McNulty’s departure adds to a growing list of concerns for UAE. Adam Yates has been battling illness in recent days, Tim Wellens has also been under the weather, and Florian Vermeersch is continuing to manage an injury.
“It’s annoying to lose Brandon. He was a very useful rider for us,” Pogačar said. “Adam is gradually getting better. He didn’t have to do too much today or yesterday. He suffered, but he’s better than he was a few days ago. I hope he’ll be ready for Saturday because it will be important to have a strong team.”
With several teammates less than 100 per cent, Pogačar acknowledged his approach to racing may have to change. During Stage 18, UAE allowed Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe to control much of the pace.
“How I race depends on the situation,” he said. “If the riders don’t recover from illness, you don’t always know what to do. You have to ride more on instinct. But I believe everything will be fine, and we’ll get through the next few days.”
The next few days at the Toure France
There are still two mega stages to come. Thursday was really just an appetizer for what’s ahead. Granted, the world champion holds a comfortable lead overall, so he doesn’t need to attack. But with a depleted squad, controlling the race becomes much more difficult. Thankfully for Pogačar, once the road turns uphill, team strength matters a little less.
And there is plenty of climbing still to come.
Friday’s 127.9-km stage runs from Gap to Alpe d’Huez, featuring three categorized climbs, including the hors catégorie summit finish on the iconic climb.
Stage 20 starts in Le Bourg-d’Oisans, climbs the Croix de Fer, Col du Télégraphe, Col du Galibier and Col de Sarenne, before finishing on Alpe d’Huez. This time, however, the riders will approach the famous resort from the back side via Sarenne before joining the final kilometres to the summit.
Even though Saturday’s finish isn’t as demanding as Friday’s, the stage still features two hors catégorie climbs and a Category 1 ascent—more than enough terrain to shatter the peloton and test whatever strength Pogačar’s team has left.