UAE Team Emirates-XRG have confirmed the team that will support Tadej Pogačar at the Tour de France as he chases a record-equalling fifth yellow jersey victory.
There were no major surprises in UAE's team line-up, confirmed on Monday, but once again the team has assembled an extremely strong group to support Pogačar, including former Grand Tour podium finishers and workhorse rouleurs for the flatter stages and TTT.
For the mountains, Pogačar can rely on the ultra talented Mexican prodigy Isaac del Toro, as well as Grand Tour veteran and long time lieutenant Adam Yates. Brandon McNulty is also back for his third Tour after missing out on selection last year.
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In terms of power, which will be especially important for the opening team time trial, UAE have the strong Belgian duo of Tim Wellens and Florian Vermeersch, newly-minted German TT champion Nils Politt, and the understated but important Felix Großschartner, riding his 12th Grand Tour.
Pogačar praised the strength of the team that UAE have assembled as he tries to win a third consecutive Tour, and fifth of his career.
"I feel good, I’m looking forward to racing, and I know I’ll have a fantastic group of teammates and staff around me," he said. "We have a lot of confidence in each other and have built up a lot of experience together over the years.
"There will be strong rivals, difficult stages and many other unpredictable moments, but we’re ready to give everything."
In terms of experience. Del Toro is the only Tour debutant, but this will be his third Grand Tour after almost winning the Giro d'Italia last year. A strong contender himself, the Mexican is expected to work primarily in support of Pogačar, but is capable of a strong individual result too.
In terms of absences, Monday's announcement confirmed that João Almeida will not be in action, missing his second Grand Tour of the year as he deals with a mysterious lack of form.
Marc Soler is still out injured, and Jhonatan Narváez raced the Giro instead of the Tour, whilst there was no place for Pavel Sivakov or Mikkel Bjerg.
This mean's that the line-up for 2026 is fairly different to the team that joined Pogačar in France in 2025, with Politt, Yates and Wellens the only common denominators.
Ever Tour is important for Pogačar and UAE, but there is added significance to this year's edition, as he has the chance to win a fifth Tour title, and join the small club of five-time winners that currently contains Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain.
In preparation, Pogačar has won the Tour de Romandie in Tour de Suisse in recent months, adding to his four Classics wins from the spring, including his maiden Milan-San Remo victory.
"The Tour de France is always the biggest challenge of the season and also the race that motivates us the most," he said. "Every year, you arrive at the start knowing that anything can happen over three weeks, and that’s what makes it so special."
Most of Pogačar's teammates have been training at altitude to prepare for the Tour, but the Slovenian had to rejig his plans to spend time at home after his parter Urška Žigart suffered and injury at the Tour de Suisse. He is still expected to arrive in Barcelona on Tuesday.
"We’ve prepared really well as a team, everyone has worked incredibly hard, and now we’re excited to finally get started in Barcelona," he said.
"It’s a privilege to wear these colours at the Tour de France, and we’ll do our best to make ourselves, the team and the fans proud."
UAE Team Emirates-XRG for the 2026 Tour de France
- Tadej Pogačar
- Isaac del Toro
- Felix Großschartner
- Brandon McNulty
- Nils Politt
- Florian Vermeersch
- Tim Wellens
- Adam Yates
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