"A rainy day and time trial wheels seems like a strange decision": UAE is back in the spotlight for its tires after the wave of crashes in the Giro

The UAE is signing a Giro d'Italia 2026 that is as brilliant as it is troubled. After a start marked by withdrawals, the team has already accumulated two consecutive stage victories, the latest with Igor Arrieta in Potenza. But that does not yet overshadow a concerning list of falls that has already taken Adam Yates, Marc Soler, and Jay Vine out of the race. Now, in addition, the team's technical strategy has come under suspicion after Geraint Thomas and Luke Rowe publicly questioned the use of time trial tires in the rain.

UAE under scrutiny for using time trial tires in the rain after multiple falls in the Giro

The debate arose on the Watts Occurring podcast, where both former teammates analyzed the numerous falls that UAE has been suffering during this first week of the Giro. According to Luke Rowe, currently the sports director of Decathlon CMA CGM, the Emirati team is using Continental GP5000 TT tires even in normal stages and under complicated conditions.

“UAE was using time trial tires,” Rowe stated on the podcast. “We all know they are faster. They are. They always use them. They are the only team that practically uses them in any circumstance. But they have less grip. And the first one to fall was a UAE rider. He lost both wheels.”

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The Briton was particularly critical of the decision made in the second stage, which was held in the rain and marked by falls that ultimately took Adam Yates out of the Giro. “Was the rain a surprise? Wasn’t it in the forecast?”, Rowe asked, addressing Geraint Thomas. “I don’t understand that decision. I really don’t. A wet day and time trial tires seems like a strange decision. And I say this being harsh, because half the team ended up on the ground.”

Thomas, who now serves as the competition director at Netcompany INEOS, acknowledged in the same podcast that the use of this type of tire has been gradually spreading within the peloton and that even INEOS has followed that path at times.

“It has been a topic within our team,” Thomas explained on Watts Occurring. “We started using TT tires and then you use them more and more, until you realize they become standard. It’s definitely something to consider, especially in Bulgaria, where you don’t know exactly what the roads are like.”

While UAE continues to accumulate sporting victories, the technical debate surrounding their tires could fade into the background, but given the number of falls suffered by the team in just five days of racing, it seems the issue will not completely disappear.