'There Are Bodies Everywhere' – Tadej Pogačar Plays Down Wave of Illness Within UAE Camp at Tour De France
Brandon McNulty became the first UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider to quit the race as illness and injury hit the squad’s support for Tadej Pogačar.
- On Thursday, American Brandon McNulty abandoned the Tour de France midway through stage 18, becoming the first UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider to leave the race and reducing leader Tadej Pogačar's support to six riders.
- Pogačar's squad faces mounting health crises, with British climber Adam Yates suffering severe stomach illness on stages 16 and 17, Tim Wellens narrowly avoiding elimination Thursday, and support rider Florian Vermeersch battling an unspecified injury.
- Despite the instability, Pogačar dismissed claims his team is crumbling. "We will keep fighting, and I believe we can do it," he said, noting teammates Nils Politt and Isaac Del Toro continue performing strongly.
- Pogačar maintains a lead of over four and half minutes on closest rival Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, a buffer substantial enough that McNulty's absence may not prove decisive in the final stages.
- The Tour now heads for a double dose of Alpe d'Huez, with Friday's stage 19 taking the traditional hairpinned route and Saturday's stage approaching via the Col de Sarenne before the finish in Paris on Sunday.
32 Articles
32 Articles
The Tour de France enters its final phase and, while Tadej Pogacar has already started his catwalk for the final victory, the UAE Team Emirates has to deal with an increasingly critical emergency. The intestinal virus that hit several runners of the team forced Brandon McNulty to retire, while Tim Wellens [...] The article Tour de France, virus emergency in the UAE: McNulty forced to withdraw. Pogacar unloads: "It is a situation of m*rda" comes …
During the most important cycling tour in the world, fear of a virus is handled. For the time being, Tadej Pogacar remains calm.
After Adam Yates on Wednesday, Tim Wellens also got sick and had to fight to finish in time at Orcières-Merlette while Brandon McNulty was forced to give up. An alarming context for the UAE team in the yellow jersey. ...
American Cyclist Withdraws From Tour de France Days After Car Crash Scare During Recon
Brandon McNulty was playing a crucial part in Tadej Pogacar’s 2026 Tour de France campaign, but a series of events ended his season early. The American cyclist first faced a frightening road incident during a time trial recon ride when a motorist allegedly brake-checked him. Now, days later, McNulty has dropped out of the Tour after an uphill battle during a mountain stage. On July 23, during Stage 18, McNulty was already struggling from the ope…
Although Tadej Pogacar was at the front during the eighteenth Tour stage, a number of signs sound very worrying. Three of his teammates are ill, one of whom, Brandon McNulty, even had to abandon the race. During the stage and afterwards, Pogi looked less energetic than we are used to seeing from him. Is the black cycling shorts he suddenly wore a sign that he, too, has been gripped by a debilitating virus?
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