Tadej Pogacar maintains a 4’32” lead in the Tour de France, but a virus sweeping through UAE Team Emirates-XRG has forced the abandonment of Brandon McNulty and left key lieutenants struggling. The team faces a critical Alpe d’Huez double-header with depleted support.
The dominant facade of UAE Team Emirates-XRG has cracked. While Tadej Pogacar remains the race leader, his supporting cast is dropping like flies just as the Tour enters its most grueling mountain stages. A wave of illness and injury has transformed the strongest team in the race into a squad fighting for survival.
The Collapse of the UAE Support System
The crisis reached a tipping point during Stage 18. American rider Brandon McNulty abandoned the race with 21km remaining. While the team has cited illness, McNulty’s exit may have been compounded by injuries from a Tuesday incident where he was hit by a car during a reconnaissance of the stage 16 time trial. Team principal Mauro Gianetti described the car as a normal car
and noted that the vehicle was unrelated to the race.
The illness, described by some as gastroenteritis, first hit Adam Yates. During Stage 17, Yates nearly came to a complete stop, eventually finishing nearly 27 minutes behind the stage winner. The struggle was visceral; teammates and officials reported that Yates had suffered like a dog.
The contagion has not stopped with Yates. Tim Wellens has reported a sore throat and mucus, barely making the time cut on Thursday by just two minutes. Florian Vermeersch has also been identified as struggling, with reports noting salt marks on his skinsuit at the finish in Orcières-Merlette.
Conflicting Narratives and “Mixed Messages”
As the health of the squad became a focal point, UAE Team Emirates-XRG appeared to struggle with its own messaging. According to Cyclingnews, there was a stark contrast between what team management told the press and what the riders admitted.
While team boss Mauro Gianetti and sporting manager Joxean Fernández Matxin initially played down rumors of a widespread illness, Tim Wellens was simultaneously telling Belgian media about his sore throat. The contradictions deepened at the finish of Stage 18, where Matxin explicitly denied Wellens was sick, claiming it was simply normal
for the rider to drop back to save energy.
This internal friction suggests a team in damage-control mode. The desperation to project strength is evident in the riders’ attempts to isolate themselves.
Richard Carapaz Seizes Stage 18
Amidst the chaos in the yellow jersey’s camp, Richard Carapaz of EF Education-EasyPost claimed a gutsy victory on Stage 18. Carapaz attacked a six-man breakaway on the final ascent to Orcières-Merlette, winning by 45 seconds over Mauro Schmid and Matteo Jorgenson.
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The stage was characterized by a truce among the general classification favorites. Pogacar crossed the line after Carapaz, maintaining his 4’32” lead over second-placed Remco Evenepoel. However, the visual of Pogacar swapping his usual yellow shorts for black has been interpreted by some as a sign of the growing tension and instability within the team.
The Alpe d’Huez Stakes
The timing of this health crisis is precarious. The race now heads toward a back-to-back finish at Alpe d’Huez. While Pogacar’s lead is substantial, the loss of McNulty and the diminished capacity of Yates and Wellens remove the “firepower” needed to control the race and chase down dangerous breakaways.
| Rider | Team | GC Position |
|---|---|---|
| Tadej Pogacar | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 1st (Yellow Jersey) |
| Remco Evenepoel | Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe | 2nd (+4’32”) |
| Isaac del Toro | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 3rd |
| Paul Seixas | Decathlon CMA CGM | 4th |
For Remco Evenepoel, the instability at UAE represents a potential opening. Though Evenepoel has previously stated he is racing for second place, the lack of support around Pogacar makes the Slovenian look, for the first time this year, almost vulnerable.
A Fragile Path to a Fifth Title
Pogacar is chasing a Tour title. He remains confident, asserting that we will keep fighting and I believe we can do it
. However, the reality is that he is now relying on a skeleton crew.
Now, the race is a test of raw endurance and health. If the virus continues to spread or if Pogacar himself falls ill, the 4’32” cushion may not be the safeguard it appears to be.
The upcoming Alpe d’Huez stages will reveal whether UAE’s “survival mode” is enough to protect the yellow jersey or if a biological variable has finally found a way to disrupt Pogacar’s impassive dominance.
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