The illness strikes the UAE when Pogacar seemed to have the Tour secured: "We will survive Alpe d'Huez and then we'll see what we can do"

With two high mountain stages left until the end of the 2026 Tour de France, the great dominator of the race faces his most delicate moment. UAE Team Emirates-XRG arrives at Alpe d’Huez with several riders physically diminished, a significant abandonment, and an official discourse that clashes head-on with what the race images and the statements of their own cyclists show.

The UAE crisis adds spice to the Tour: illnesses, contradictory messages, and an Alpe d’Huez that could change everything

So far, no one has tried to take advantage of that apparent weakness. But the arrival at Alpe d’Huez and the grueling stage on Saturday offer the perfect setting to see if the strength of Tadej Pogačar's team is real or whether illness could open an unexpected battle for the podium and even sow some doubt about the yellow jersey.

An increasingly weakened team

The signs began in stage 17, when Adam Yates lost contact very early with the favorites. UAE later confirmed that the Brit had been suffering from gastrointestinal issues for a couple of days.

The situation worsened in stage 18. Brandon McNulty ended up abandoning the Tour after being dropped from the first climbs, while Tim Wellens crossed the finish line completely exhausted, barely two minutes ahead of the time limit after spending much of the day fighting alone.

RECOMENDADO

"He suffered like a dog": alarms went off about the UAE, but Matxin calms before the decisive stages

Richard Carapaz puts on a masterclass to win Stage 18 of the 2026 Tour de France at Orcières-Merlette

The Alpe d'Huez arrives, the great test before the conclusion of the Tour de France: schedules and key points of stage 19

Pogacar's VO2max would be close to the human limit

UCI statement on the night controls of the Tour: "They are exceptional, but necessary"

Additionally, some images also raised doubts about Isaac del Toro. The Mexican, third in the general classification, was the only teammate who accompanied Pogačar in the favorites' group, but at several moments he showed signs of weakness that contrasted with the superiority he had displayed during the first two weeks.

Wellens contradicts the management

The biggest controversy came after the stage. Before the start, Tim Wellens admitted to the Belgian press that he was suffering from a sore throat and cold symptoms. After reaching the finish line practically out of strength, the Belgian was even clearer.

“In any other race, you would retire, but in the Tour, you don’t do that. I’m glad I made it to the finish line,” he declared to Sporza.

Wellens also explained that the team is going through an episode of illness.

“It’s clear that there is an illness within the team. Luckily, Tadej is fine, and I hope he stays that way,”  he also assured Sporza.

However, just a few minutes later, sports director Joxean Fernández Matxin offered a completely different version in statements to Eurosport.

“He is not sick, he is not sick.”

Matxin defended that Wellens had simply stopped competing in the stage to conserve energy and recover for the end of the Tour, an explanation that is hard to reconcile with the fact that the Belgian arrived completely dropped and close to the time limit.

The contradictions don’t end there. According to Wellens, all the riders had dinner isolated in their rooms the night before, while Mauro Gianetti had previously assured that only Adam Yates was isolated.

Pogačar tries to convey calm

As doubts around the team increase, Tadej Pogačar maintains a much more optimistic discourse.

After lamenting McNulty's abandonment, the Slovenian stated that he hopes to recover riders for the last two alpine stages.

“Adam is improving, and I think he will be able to keep up tomorrow. We will survive tomorrow’s stage and try to reach Alpe d’Huez, and then we will see what we can do,” he explained in his press conference.

The Tour leader also insisted that Yates has already shown a slight improvement compared to the previous day and especially trusts him for the grueling stage on Saturday. “On Saturday, it will be important to have a strong team.”

Evenepoel will not attack… but points to Decathlon

Despite the evident weakness of UAE, Remco Evenepoel does not seem willing to risk his second place in a distant offensive against Pogačar.

The Belgian, second in the general classification at 4:32 behind the leader, made it clear in statements to Sporza that he will maintain a conservative strategy.

“I’m not going to take crazy risks that could jeopardize my second place.”

However, Evenepoel does believe that another team will take advantage of the situation.

“I think a team like Decathlon will give it their all now to attack Del Toro’s third place. It’s a way to see if he is also suffering from the illness.”

His words point directly to Paul Seixas. The young Frenchman occupies the fourth position in the general classification just twenty seconds behind Isaac del Toro, so he has a real opportunity to conquer the Tour podium in his debut, in addition to taking the white jersey for the best young rider from the Mexican.

Alpe d’Huez, the first real test

So far, no contender for the general classification has really tried to test UAE. The stage to Orcières-Merlette did not have the characteristics to pose a long-range offensive, and the main favorites preferred to conserve energy. But Alpe d’Huez represents a completely different scenario.

With McNulty out of the race, Yates recovering, Wellens very diminished, and Florian Vermeersch also affected by an injury, the collective dominance that UAE had exercised during the first two weeks seems to have disappeared.

The big unknown is no longer just whether Pogačar will remain the strongest, but how much his teammates will be able to help him when the attacks begin in the two decisive stages in the Alps.

If the leader remains healthy, he is still the big favorite to wear yellow in Paris. But for the first time since this Tour began, his rivals have reasons to believe that it is worth testing the endurance of a team that seemed invincible.