"A lot of riders are unhappy because they win everything" - Tadej Pogacar's dominance in sufocating the French riders' ambitions at the Tour de France
CyclingFriday, 17 July 2026 at 16:30
UAE Team Emirates - XRG has a firm hold over the ongoing Tour de France, and that is disruptive for the teams hoping to succeed from breakaways or chase the KOM classification. That, in fact, affects quite a few French riders.
Lenny Martínez still considers KOM jersey
One such is Lenny Martínez, leader of Bahrain - Victorious, and currently in the Tour's Top10. The Frenchman is performing very well in the overall classification, however he maintains that the KOM jersey remains a goal.
“I don't know if it'll be possible. If Tadej is too dominant for the polka-dot jersey, we'll try to change strategy," Martínez said to In de Leiderstrui. "The coming days are better suited to my characteristics, with longer climbs. I'm better on the longer climbs in this Tour de France".
Starting stage 13, Martínez was eighth with 16 points against Pogacar's 42. On paper, only the pursuit of breakaways would grand the Bahrain rider a chance at winning the jersey he lost last year in similar circumstances - with the points system favouring the GC favourites.
"There's still a long way to go from here to Paris. For now, I'm trying to stay in the top ten. I'm thinking less and less about the polka-dot jersey and more and more about the general classification," he admits however.
"Especially when I see how dominant Tadej is. The polka-dot jersey is always in the back of my mind, and you never know what could happen in those final stages. For now, though, I'm mainly focused on the general classification.”
However he knows that in both scenarios, a stage win is quite difficult against a UAE that is omnipresent. "They're certainly not conceding many stages. They're the strongest, so they have every right to race for the win. With such a strong team, you can control everything. If they're happy with that, good for them".
"I'll try to stay close to the riders in the general classification, as much as possible, every day. Who knows, maybe I can even gain a bit in the standings.”
Tadej Pogacar leads the KOM classification currently, whilst Jonas Vingegaard is borrowing the jersey
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No cohesion leads to the end of breakaway chances
Jordan Jegat, on the other way, has been hunting breakaways with a minor focus on GC. In stage 10 he had the opportunity to do something, but was left surprised with the left of coordination in the day's breakaway.
“I was a little disappointed after the stage to Le Lioran. Not with UAE, because we have known for several years that they are the best. They always race in the same way. A lot of riders are unhappy because they win everything, but when we get into a breakaway, we do not work together," he said to the Dutch news outlet.
Ultimately Javier Romo was the only survivor late in that day, who was still caught on the base of the climb to Puy Mary, before the race imploded. Jegat wants a stage win, but knows that for that to be possible in the first place, his fellow escapees have to work together against the peloton.
“People start attacking with 100 kilometers to go. In the end, we are also doing nothing to beat UAE, and that is disappointing," he lamented.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- I saw that Visma ordered Jorgenson to be as close to Pogi as possible, because this yellow american Trump voter keeps coughing and blowing his nose so that Pogačar can catch the shit he has. This is next level BS from Visma but the fans are still booing Pogi.???mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales17-07-2026
- They've had a plan since last year. They knew they couldn't do better than 2nd , that's why they went to the Giro.MajorPayne17-07-2026
- “We’ve got a plan for that” Yeah.. And I've got a plan for Vingegaard to win White Jersey! Please contact me regarding the Elixir of Youth if you want to go for it!averagecyclist17-07-2026
- Imagine Usain Bolt registering for the 100m, 200m, 4X100m, 4X200m relay and after three wins he is asked to give up a win to others, so that the audience is happy and the opponents get a chance. You can't imagine it, can you, in any sports, but only in f* cycling. I will start hating this sport if this BS is gonna keep goin on. WTF???mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales17-07-2026
- I agree with him. I saw the overhead video. It really looked like Gaviria went left and wasn’t paying attention. At a minimum, Gaviria deviated more from his line than Michelen.JoeyB17-07-2026
- No no, you couldn't be more wrong. Just hate your countless fawning posts on your hatred against Pogi-your hate obsession! Get a life :(mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales17-07-2026
- When I watch races, I don't want to see mediocrity, gifts, and whining. I just want the best man win, and if Remco is the best that day and drops Pogačar, I have nothing against it. I just don't want gifts for mediocre cyclists, from a BS breakaway, let the best man win. Ad acta!!!mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales17-07-2026
- Maybe you've got a point here. They could infect him, or "innocently" crash him: "oops, I'm sorry, I didn't see you..."mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales17-07-2026
- Why write an article about jorgenson being sick AND NOT MENTION WHAT THE ILLNESS IS .. PRETTY PATHETIC REPORTINGcaptmike17-07-2026
- 🤡🤡U🤡🤡C🤡🤡I🤡🤡Lobz7717-07-2026
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