UAE Team Emirates-XRG 2026 Tour de France: Pogacar strives for five

2025 Tour de France:

• 2025 Tour stage wins: 5
• 2025 Best GC finish: 1st - Tadej Pogačar

2026 Objectives:

The Emirati team arrives at the Tour with reigning champion and four time winner Tadej Pogačar. The objective is clear: to claim a third consecutive victory and a record equalling fifth yellow jersey in Paris.

Pogačar will be the undisputed leader for the general classification, with Isaac del Toro and Adam Yates providing key support in the mountains. Del Toro makes his Tour debut after winning the UAE Tour, Tirreno-Adriatico and Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, while Yates brings the experience of nine previous Tour appearances.

“We’ve prepared really well as a team,” said Pogačar. “We’re ready to give everything.”

The strong supporting cast also includes Felix Großschartner, Brandon McNulty, Nils Politt, Florian Vermeersch and Tim Wellens. Together, the squad combines powerful rouleurs for the opening team time trial and flat stages with proven climbers for the decisive days in the Pyrenees and Alps.

🇸🇮 Tadej Pogačar (27): The mission is clear for the World Champion, and that is to win a record-equalling fifth Tour de France. Pogačar has been the dominant force over the previous two editions and yet another remarkable campaign to date makes the 27-year-old the favourite for the yellow jersey in 2026. 

This season has seen Pogačar rack up 16 race days, and the World Champion has picked up 13 victories in that time. With a focus on the Classics in spring, Pogačar scored victories at Strade Bianche, Milan-Sanremo, Tour of Flanders, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. 

The World Champion then pivoted his attention to stage racing, making his debut at Switzerland's two biggest stage races, the Tour de Romandie and Tour de Suisse. Pogačar racked up seven stage wins across the two races and the GC in both, winning the latter by 6:32, the biggest margin since 1959.

Pogačar will remain well aware of the threat that Jonas Vingegaard poses, but the World Champion will also take confidence knowing that the last time he was beaten by the Dane in a stage race was back at the Tour in 2023.

🇲🇽 Isaac del Toro (22): No rider has won more WorldTour stage races in 2026 than Isaac del Toro. Having won the UAE Tour, Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Del Toro could lead most teams in his own right. However, despite his stellar talent, the Mexican Champion will naturally prioritise supporting Pogačar's title defence, a luxury teammate for the World Champion to have by his side. If things go to plan for Pogačar, Del Toro and UAE, it will be interesting to see if the Mexican Champion can also finish high in the GC too and perhaps replicate the Emirati team's double podium in 2023 when Pogačar finished second and Adam Yates in third. 

🇧🇪 Tim Wellens (35): Wellens had only raced alongside Pogačar once this season, at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, until the recent Tour de Suisse, where he supported the World Champion to overall victory. The Belgian had been ruled out for the majority of the spring classics after suffering a broken collarbone at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, but showed plenty of positive signs upon his return to racing. Last year was Wellens' seventh Tour, and arguably his best, playing his part in Pogačar’s GC success, as well as landing an impressive solo stage victory from the breakaway.

🇺🇸 Brandon McNulty (28): The American is poised for a return to the Tour de France for the first time in four years. McNulty will certainly have his part to play in the mountains, as is often the case with the American. The form is certainly in a good spot after he finished sixth overall at the Tour de Suisse while supporting Pogačar to the yellow jersey.

🇬🇧 Adam Yates (33): Having made his debut at the race in 2015, Adam Yates has racked up plenty of experience across his nine Tours to date. Winning a stage, the youth classification, wearing the yellow jersey, and standing on the third step of the podium are among the standout moments so far for Yates. Stepping into his tenth Tour, the British climber will be hoping to add another success by supporting Pogačar in the high mountains to a record-equalling fifth yellow jersey.

🇧🇪 Florian Vermeersch (27): The Belgian Classics specialist enjoyed a strong spring, which included finishing on the podium at Omloop Nieuwsblad and the E3 Saxo Classic. Vermeersch is another rider who will be key in protecting Pogačar on the chaotic flat stages, but also can climb well, and like Politt, will be seen at the front of the peloton plenty throughout the race. 

🇩🇪 Nils Politt (32): The German is lining up for a remarkable tenth consecutive lap around France. A valuable engine and shield for Pogačar on the flat, Politt is a machine who can also play an important role in the mountains, as he demonstrated, pulling on the front of the peloton for a majority of the Cime de la Bonette in 2024. 

🇦🇹 Felix Großschartner (32): The experienced Austrian often goes under the radar for his climbing ability and the work he does as a domestique in the mountains. A two-time former top 10 finisher at the Vuelta and four-time national ITT champion, Großschartner has all the tools required to make a difference in the mountains and the opening team time trial for Pogačar. This season has seen Großschartner support Pogačar to victories at Strade Bianche, Milan-Sanremo, the Tour de Romandie and Tour de Suisse.