UAE Team Emirates-XRG have announced a dramatically overhauled Milan-San Remo line-up to help leader Tadej Pogačar face one of the biggest challenges still remaining and try to win La Primavera for the first time.
Viewed as the top co-favourite, this will be Pogačar's sixth Milan-San Remo appearance in seven editions, with his twelfth place in 2020 preceding fifth in 2022, fourth in 2023 and third in the last two races. Along with Paris-Roubaix, it is one of just two Monuments he has yet to win.
Pogačar's own participation and status as team leader was beyond any doubt, but the UAE 2026 line-up to back him has some notable changes from last year, with more than half the team replaced, partly because of injuries.
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Stake Vegard Laengen, Jhonatan Narváez, Nils Politt and Tim Wellens are all absent a year on from Pogačar's most recent podium, with Arizona's Brandon McNulty back racing after his Paris-Nice crash out to make his San Remo debut at 27. Jan Christen, Felix Großschartner and former Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Paris-Roubaix podium finisher Florian Vermeersch will also will be present.
The main unchanging factor from 2025 for UAE is Isaac del Toro, fresh off a knock-out overall victory in Tirreno-Adriatico and taking part in San Remo for a third straight time.
Following his third place in Strade Bianche, his role will almost certainly be to help set a ferocious pace in the finale to try and whittle down the competition, most likely on the Cipressa. He could also be a potential Plan 'B' for UAE, should the near-unthinkable happen and Pogačar have an off-day.
Regardless of the alterations in the line-up, the crunch question for Pogačar's teammates remains the same. Their challenge will be helping other top favourites like Mathieu van der Poel's Alpecin-Premier Tech control the race for 250 kilometres and then pacing the Slovenian and the peloton up to a high speed on the Cipressa, San Remo's penultimate climb.
This is the point where it's widely seen that it's most likely Pogačar will be able to attack from distance and drop the field. Then, hopefully from – UAE's point of view – Pogačar will only be seen again by his rivals after the finish line.
"Our team is of course missing Wellens and Narváez, but we still have strong riders who can handle that work," team sports director Fabio Baldato, himself a podium finisher at San Remo back in the day, told Sporza.
"I believe it is possible, although the climb is quite short and the speed is particularly high. You have to go even faster than, say, 35kph. The legs aren't tired yet due to the lack of climbs, but it is possible."
However, Baldato preached caution about whether UAE would be able to shake off Mathieu van der Poel, pointing out that the Alpecin-Premer Tech racer, fresh from two stage wins in Tirreno-Adriatico as well as a victory in Omloop in his debut appearance, was not exactly dragging himself through the races right now.
"It won't be easy, because Mathieu is in great form," Baldato said.
Still, that is exactly the task that Pogačar and his teammates are currently facing if they want the Slovenian to finally raise his arms in San Remo.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG team for Milan-San Remo
- Jan Christen (SWI)
- Isaac Del Toro (MEX)
- Felix Großschartner (AUT)
- Brandon McNulty (USA)
- Domen Novak (SLO)
- Tadej Pogačar (SLO)
- Florian Vermeersch (BEL)
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