Sick soldiers and mixed messages – What's really going on at UAE Team Emirates-XRG and how will it change the last days of the Tour de France? - Cyclingnews

What the report says

Cyclingnews reports that illness and injury inside UAE Team Emirates-XRG have added uncertainty to the closing mountain stages of the 2026 Tour de France, even as Tadej Pogačar remains in the yellow jersey. The team had controlled much of the race, but ahead of the Alpe d’Huez stages, several support riders appear compromised: Brandon McNulty is out, Adam Yates has a stomach problem, Tim Wellens has reported a sore throat, and Florian Vermeersch is said to be carrying an injury.

The report focuses not only on the team’s weakened roster but also on conflicting public messages from UAE management. Cyclingnews says team officials Mauro Gianetti and Joxean Fernández Matxin played down suggestions of wider illness, while Wellens told Belgian media he had symptoms and said riders had eaten separately in their rooms. At the finish of stage 18 in Orcières-Merlette, Matxin reportedly denied Wellens was sick, despite the rider finishing close to the time cut and indicating there was illness in the squad.

Cyclingnews assesses that Pogačar is still strongly placed, with a lead of more than four minutes and no clear rival matching his level after Jonas Vingegaard’s exit. Remco Evenepoel is described as focused on second place, while Isaac del Toro and Paul Seixas are also high in the standings.

The main sporting consequence could be a less controlled race. A depleted UAE squad may find it harder to manage breakaways or set up another Pogačar stage win, especially across the final Alpine tests. Cyclingnews says the uncertainty over whether illness could spread to Pogačar has restored tension to a Tour that had appeared largely under his control.