Covid-19 in UAE Team Emirates? Two of Tadej Pogacar's teammates separated from race leader into key stages
Cycling
A sight that has been seen on a few occasions this week. About a week ago Tom Pidcock and Geraint Thomas were seen being transported to the start of Tour de France stages in team cars and not on the bus, and later showed symptoms and tested positive for Covid-19 respectively. Two of Tadej Pogacar's teammates travelled to today's stage start outside of the team bus sparking big questions.
This morning Team Jayco AlUla's Chris Harper tested positive and withdrew from the race, whilst the same has happened yesterday with Lotto Dstny's Maxim van Gils. It isn't just a rumour that there is Covid in the peloton, Geraint Thomas of INEOS Grenadiers is literally in the race after having tested positive, and UAE itself has had Juan Ayuso pull out because of the illness that continues to be well present in pro cycling still in 2024.
A sport where respiratory function is absolutely vital, having a Covid infection can prove absolutely deadly for the chances of any rider, even if currently riders are not forced to abandon the race because of it. Ordinarily, that still happens, so as to protect teammates, staff and fans who may not be so lucky with symptoms. This morning, as reported by AS, both Adam Yates and Tim Wellens travelled to the start of stage 16 in team cars, separated from the rest of their teammates on the team bus.
This is bad news for the race leader who has seemingly cemented his Tour victory this weekend in the Pyrenees, if he manages to avoid a bad day as in the previous two Tours. The team was said to have significantly increased the amount of masks and protection as well in comparison to previous days, most likely confirming fear of Covid within it's bubble - and possible infections within staff.
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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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- Mathieu and Wout!!! You must start in CX this winter! (hope you reading comments here...) ;-)averagecyclist12-11-2026
- Who made you site boss?Lozza12-11-2026
- This shows so well you’ve never ventured out to a cycling event and checked out spectators.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- I preferred the one about amateur riders and passing (perhaps to explain why he can’t ride at 220 which would probably be more effective to return to shape).Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Not just ManU, far worse in some minority sports ventures.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- From your writing it sounds like you’ve been sharing your views with people here for quite a while, quite presumouptuous for a new profile.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Which is amazing given his weight and size, though, unlike in boxing and some rare instances we haven’t a clue what his fighting weight was. Anybody know why these “public” figures floated around are considered as being accurate?Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- That’s a first point, everyone can have an off year or just stagnate before a new upward cycle. What would have been more interesting is including Skjelmose’s performance into the discussion, things have also been expected from him after several performances in the past but he hasn’t really progressed either, his TdF was basically what you would have expected but he’s 26 and been kind of stuck at this level for at least 2-3 years. Maybe he’s a late developer or maybe he needs something to change but as manager I’d be just as demanding and worried about both. Perhaps the recruitment concept was to have enough talent so at least one every year would be in shape and they’ve just been unlucky. Don’t want to rub it in but you could even say Mads lost a notch, so is it the riders or is it more to do with the team?Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Bingo...I was also going to say that young pretty women are obsessed Pogi fan girls... who are chasing him. All glossy "____" (blank) about Tadej. PS: You can all fill in the "blank" yourselves, whatever you prefer. The definition of glossy is: It looks unusually shiny, glazed over, watery, or vacant/unfocused.PogiSloFans12-11-2026
- Are you able to discuss ANYTHING without making a reference back to your Special 1? It’s almost as if you’re paid by his marketing team to improve his ranking in search results.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
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➡️ Aumenta el blindaje de los equipos en el Tour de Francia y también se ven numerosas mascarillas #TdF2024 🚲 Según pudo saber @diarioas, Adam Yates y Tim Wellens llegaron por separado y no en el autobús a la salida 📹 @danimiranda9 (Gruissan)
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